Trade unions can bridge the gap between governments and the market to increase both the production and welfare of workers

Calculating the costs and benefits of trade unions has always been a controversial subject. Andreas Hauptmann argues that neither economically liberal regimes, nor strict government controls can provide for optimal levels of occupational health and safety standards. Rather, trade unions can help fill this gap by identifying issues in the workplace more quickly and by this they increase production and welfare. Membership of unions experienced a large rise in the early 20th century, but this has since fallen in most countries. One explanation is the promotion of better health and safety legislation. In this sense unions have been a victim of their own success as their importance has declined with better workplace standards.