How do Shop Stewards Learn their Job? Trade Union Training and Representation

Abstract

Learning to represent people, as shop stewards do, is a complex affair. It is especially so for stewards, as their functions vary widely, both according to rule books and in practice. As Goodman and Whittingham observed: “Few training officers operate without detailed job descriptions, yet that of a steward is particularly difficult to define. They are important communicators but also decision‐makers”. Stewards develop and apply to the job attitudes and skills derived formally or informally from a variety of sources, and one such source is the training provision laid on by the TUC and by individual unions.

Citation

Robertson, D. and Schuller, T. (1982), "How do Shop Stewards Learn their Job? Trade Union Training and Representation", Employee Relations, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 6-11. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb054986