Most of the commentary on trade union decline concentrates on the fall in overall union membership and density (the proportion of workers who carry a union card). This is obviously cause for great concern. Since 1979, total union membership has halved and density has fallen from over 50% to below 25%. However there is another set…
The annual attempt by organisations like the misleadingly named ‘Taxpayers’ Alliance to provoke outrage about the ‘cost’ of paid release for union reps is a bit like hearing there’s going to be yet another series of the X Factor. You know its going to happen but you just wish someone, somewhere would either come up…
Yesterday I put together 8 surprising facts about trade union membership. It’s been a really popular post, and it was based on the latest Office of National Statistics trade union report. I thought it would be good to look at some of the challenges for trade unions the ONS report raises too. So here we…
The Office of National Statistics collects data on trade union membership every year and they’ve just released their report. You can read it yourself here, but for those who don’t have time to read a 55 page report, here are eight of the headline figures. I’ll have a more detailed blog on this later, and I’ve…
As the trade union movement prepares to gather in Liverpool this weekend for the 146th Annual Trades Union Congress, the TUC is launching a new publication that demonstrates the positive impact of trade unions in workplaces and on society in general.
Trade Union membership continues to show resilience and there are encouraging signs of a revival of union membership in the private sector, according to the findings of the annual Trade Union Membership Statistical Bulletin which was published yesterday by BIS. According to the report there are now 6.5 million trade union members in the UK…
I share the frustration and anger felt by all trade unionists about the way industrial action is often reported by sections of the media (ok, the BBC, ITV, Sky and most newspapers). Rather than explaining what the strike is about and exploring why the workers taking action have felt compelled to do something that results in them…