What is the Meaning & Definition of Guild

The concept of Guild is without a doubt one of the most important in the social history since it represents all those forms of union between workers, from their most primitive stages to the present day. The Guild is the union of the workers for a specific category with the aim of defending each other against possible abuses and also defend the activity, concentrate and transfer knowledge, developing labor improvements, etc. Historically, Guild emerged in the middle ages in moments in which the artisans of different products were grouped according to the activity that exercise to be better organized. As at that time there was still no notion of owner vs. workers if that were not the workers craftsmen workshop owners, the Guild had no functions of confrontation with business interests if not rather internal organisation and aid to artisans. Rights and duties of the members were established, and is it could climb from being an apprentice to master.
Currently, and after very important social and economic phenomena like the Industrial Revolution, the role of the Guild changed and took a more confrontational role since from the 18th century the division between workers and capitalists began to be more noticeable. Modern Guild then served to bring together workers (including industry) in order to confront the economic power, one who possessed the means of production and who could do with the worker what they wanted because of the large supply of labor.
Guild is since then a type of very important organisation at the social level it is which enables workers and employees to defend themselves against each other and join in case of abuses, inequality or injustice. Thanks to the work and the constant struggle of unions workers have obtained throughout the 19th century and 20th century great improvements in their working conditions that before not were taken into account, e.g. holidays, licenses by illness, death of a family member, pregnancy, social rights as social work, health insurance, retirement , etc.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.