Unions are another vital cog in the Collabsake mission. Unions are built on a similar desire to what Collabsake aims to achieve. The desire to improve the lives of the individual to correct an imbalance in power and influence. So naturally we seek to emulate the early foundation of the union movement. Unions have been wildly successful in bringing reform, so much so that they have almost become redundant because of the standards they have implemented. We want to call upon them again to revisit all that they have fostered in the past and take a slight pivot from direct industrial relations to employment structure. The past domain of Unions pitted themselves against an employer or industry directly in creating conditions for a fairer, safe and financially rewarding environment. Now we find ourselves in a new environment where those same things need addressing, not because the environment is unfair but because the worker needs have evolved. The new focus is on maintaining stability while creating freedom. Like in the past the movement will favour the worker but also develop a level playing field for business to operate within. We have to create the conditions of an agile work force. This is about putting in place diverse structure arrangements for businesses. The difference from the past where it was a negotiation now it will be an offering of options that a business and employee can select from to suit. Currently the system is ridged and allows for very little wriggle room. To try and negotiate it is like traversing a mine field. Freeing up regulation allows for exploitation and simply providing templates of work arrangements could easily swing back in the employer favour. This is why Unions play such an important role in achieving the desired outcome. Unions will be called upon to install reform until common place practices are adopted for a level playing field. It will be a little bit of history repeating with an adjustment period but a necessary step in bringing a dynamic agile society.
What has this got to do with Collabsake when this seemingly is something unions should perhaps be addressing themselves for the own relevance. We see ourselves as the catalyst for creating change in the industry. Our view is unions are too close to see the bigger picture. They have not evolved in their purpose of creating a better work environment and have remained industry focused instead of turning to how their members function with in a society for improvement in their lives. The many individual organizations need to be able to function as a larger unit while maintaining their independence and industry relevance, this requires third party assistance or a new branch or style to evolve.