Concluding opinions
The social problem of unionization has yet to be solved. Progress has been made in the past century in the area of working conditions such as the establishment of the eight our working day, the week-end, minimum wage as and legislation banning of unsafe working conditions. This aforementioned progress is a result of the organization of workers into unions so that they could collectively bargain for their common interests. However, in the past thirty years this progress has been threatened by the rise in anti-union sentiment and the decrease in the percentage of unionized workers. Unions are the only line of defense against vicious attacks by the upper classes against worker's rights and social programs. Unions are now faced with issues such as a hostile government, which passes anti-union legislation, the media, which has made an enemy out of unions and eager employers who do not fail to take advantage of a chance to weaken the stance of unions. As unions lose political power and hard-fought concessions, it is the ordinary worker who suffers as his quality of life is significantly lowered. Although much progress has been made in the field of worker's rights and unionization, much work remains to be completed before the social problem can reach a satisfactory solution.
In order to prevent similar social problems from occurring in the future proportional representation in parliament is necessary. The underlying cause of unionization was unequal political representation. Due to the fact that the government was formed exclusively of upper class politicians the rights of the working class were often ignored which led to the exploitation of labourers. Throughout the past two centuries workers organized themselves into unions in order to collectively bargain and end the abuse of their rights. However, their attempts only succeeded when their efforts were combined with support in Parliament. Without political support, a social group cannot protect their rights and freedoms or attain social equality. Future social problems can only be prevented through proportional political representation of all social groups.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees protest in Ottawa.