Union membership is craft based and cuts across firms and organisations. As a result there are likely to be several unions represented in the same factory or office, bargaining not just with employers but against each other.British unions, unlike their counterparts in some other European countries such as France and (pre-1989) Poland, are more pragmatic in their approach.They fight for better pay settlements and better working conditions within the present economic and social system rather than engage in class struggle and ideological battles for the overthrow of the system.They see their role as one of representing the workforce, pushing for objectives that are consciously desired by the workers themselves. Since the 1980s, a combination of decline in membership and anti-union legislation has greatly.the powers of the trade unions.