The general secretary acts as the union's spokesman and manages everyday affairs, usually until he reaches retirement age. An annual conference decides overall union policy and elects the General Council. The General Secretary of the TUC is the trades union spokesman in any negotiations with the government or employers' organisations. The TUC has no power to initiate or halt an individual union's industrial action. In the nineteenth century workers used to negotiate their own pay and conditions with their employers.
Collective bargaining occurs when workers allow the union to negotiate on their behalf.
Negotiations can be with an individual employer or an employers' association. Demarcation when a union insists that only their members do certain jobs. Blacking goods when the union refuses to handle goods produced by a firm in dispute with a union. Over-manning when the union insists on a large number of workers for one job. If negotiations break down employers may lose output while workers may lose some pay.