The Decline of Union Membership in the UK - Essay Example

With trade union membership in the UK on the decline, union organisers believe that recruiting workers while they are at a young age is the most viable method of swelling their ranks. “Some government sponsored research (R Disney et al, The Dynamics of Union Membership in Britain. DTI 1998) shows that if we do not recruit people into unions when they start work, they are less likely to join unions at a later stage in their working lives even if they get a job in a unionised workplace” (Monks, 2001a). According to a 2004 Labour Force Survey, the rate of union membership, by percentage, among all workers was 26 percent, a drop of 0.6 percentage points from 2003. The survey went on to indicate that while more than a third of those aged 35 and over in the UK were union members, of workers aged 25 to 34, just one-quarter were union members (Labor Force Survey, 2005). Source: Labor Force Survey, 2005 Organisers have an uphill battle in turning the tide of membership erosion. The decline of youth interest is of special concern as the future growth or decline of trade unions depend on recruiting those just out of school. "Being a union member has ceased to be the social norm, and a new generation has grown up who not only are not trade unionists, but whose parents have never been in unions either” (Schifferes, 2004). Unions face the public relations dilemma of being perceived as outdated and even irrelevant by young people. The need to attract additional young workers is essential for trade unions’ survival. They depend on a demographic group that may have little knowledge of trade unions. The Labour Force Survey reported that 18 percent of employees aged 18-29 were trade union members in 2000. This figure is a stark and troubling contrast to the 1983 mark in which 44 percent of this age group employed were within the structure of a union (Monks, 2001a). Youth membership, by percentage, has fallen by a further margin than general membership numbers since 1980. “Union membership grew steadily from 9.3 million in 1950 to 13.3 million in 1979 and by 1980 half the UK workforce were members. Since then unions have lost over 5 million members, and only just over a quarter of the civilian work force were members at the turn of the century” (Metcalf, 2001, p. 2). Source: Schifferes, 2004 While one-quarter of those employed in the UK are trade union members, just 18 percent of youths are. If current trends continue, trade union membership will decline further generation by generation. “Research shows that people who do not join unions when they start work are less likely to join a union in their later lives even if they get a job in a unionised workplace. It is no doubt true that the image of unions is not exactly attractive to young people” (Monks, 2001a). Various factors have influenced this decline including social, legislative and economic issues. The perception trade unions is not a glamorous one to those young people that have never had exposure to them. Many envision coal miners, dock workers and other labor intensive employment as the typical union jobs. These youths that are entering the job market today grew up during a period of decline of union membership and are half as likely to be raised by union parents as those during the 1970’s. During the 1980’s, Britain experienced a more conservative swing of political attitudes followed in due course by legislative actions. These laws, hardly conducive to the labour agenda, continue to be a negative influence not only to union membership directly, but have served to alter the tradition of unionism in the family. Declining numbers of youth membership reflects this trend. To examine what obstacles trade unions face when attempting to recruit the all important youth demographic, the basis of general union membership decline must be examined along with related economic and legislative factors that have affected the reversal of social opinion and thus youths’ perceptions as well as what steps, if any, can reverse the trend. Just as trade union labour membership was reaching its peak in 1979 with about half of the UK workforce affiliated with organised labour, anti-trade union law was beginning to be introduced by the Conservatives Party. This type of legislation began in earnest in 1979 and continued through 1995. These laws served the needs of employers, strengthening their hold by weakening workers rights. Adding to the unions’ woes, the closure of the mining pits was an important event coming at an integral time, followed closely by the Steelworkers’ strike in 1980, which was a dismal failure. These events acted as in a well-rehearsed concert to further reduce trade union effectiveness. “The Ridley Report, prepared by leading Thatcherite Nicholas Ridley proposed a shift from dependence on coal, outlined how coal should be stockpiled for a long strike, and how enhanced police powers and anti-union laws should be introduced to shackle the unions” (Smith, 2004). Britain, not unlike many other developed countries, experienced an economic ascent in the 1980s. Because of this, the political party in power was able to pass laws at will. Labour and trade union leaders accepted anti-union legislation and commonly deserted any efforts against industrial neglect and privatization: Had the Miners won, then the whole course of history would have changed. Thatcher and her government would have resigned and most likely a Labour government would have come to power. The pit-closure plan would have been dropped and, under pressure from a confident working class, even a Kinnock Labour government would have had to carry through some measures in favour of the working class, perhaps being compelled to abolish the Tory anti-union laws. I realise, the living consequences of that overwhelming defeat of the miners by Margaret Thatchers government. (Smith, 2004). Today one in five under the age of 25 holds a union card, even though among the young there is strong support for a national minimum wage, a right to paid holidays, equal rights for part-timers, and rights to representation and consultation (Howe, 1996, p. 27). Prosperity in a time of conservative domination has effectively cut union membership in half from its 1980 height. Those entering the work force at present are half as likely to be exposed to trade unions through their parents being members. Those involved in trade unions know full well the benefits of membership and are proud to espouse why unions are advantageous to workers as a whole. A child of a union member is certainly more likely to become a member than one who is not. A significant fraction of youths, compared to 1980, have no knowledge of union benefits, are ignorant and oblivious to labour laws and are unlikely to actively pursue membership. Youth know not only what they have learned, but what they see now. Neither as a child or now is a union job seen as a first option for youths. They see most of their friends and colleagues entering private, non union employment as the labour market has changed radically from what it was twenty years ago. Part-time work has increased, more women are working outside the home and more people are self-employed. “These groups are harder to organise in unions than full-time manual workers. In addition, the economy has been shifting from manufacturing to the service sector” (Dickson 1999). Even during this growing economy, the job market has been in decline for traditionally unionised industrial, construction, and energy-related firms, while growth in non traditional union jobs has increased: In contrast, jobs in the service sector - areas like hotel and catering, business services, and health and education - have continued to grow. These tend to be in smaller workplaces which are harder to organise. Even large service sector firms like Rentokil Initial, which runs catering and security services for many companies, are reluctant to recognise unions. A very low percentage of sales, clerical, and managerial workers - who are concentrated in the private service sector - are in unions. For example, only 11 percent of sales workers are unionised, although the unions claim to have had some success with large employers like Tesco recently. (Dickson 1999) Unions have distinct problems recruiting young people. Only one in ten of workers under 30 years of age in the private sector are union members. “It is not that young people are inherently hostile to unions. In the public sector almost as many young people join unions as their older colleagues. But less than one in five younger workers have public sector jobs. Most go to private services” (Monks, 2001a). Youth today, by necessity, are much more high-tech oriented and ecologically conscious than those of twenty years previous. They envision future employment in white-collar, high-tech fields while perceiving jobs that involve trade unions to be a left-over from a polluting, industrialized and decidedly low-tech era. “It is no doubt true that the image of unions is not exactly attractive to young people. They have also grown up in an era when unions have been under sustained political and media attack. Our problem in recruiting young people therefore has more to do with the kind of jobs they are doing, rather than their attitudes or union image, though these undoubtedly play some part” (Monks, 2001b). Memories of dramatic events of the past are not easily forgotten even decades on. Attitudes developed from the 1984 strike and the stereotypical image of trade unionists as a volatile segment of the workforce which strikes on impulse are difficult to shake even today - particularly when strikes by groups such as the countrys firefighters and transport workers continue to make headlines (Doke, 2004). The numbers showing the decline of youths moving into work through trade unions upon graduation may be skewed as young people are more likely to experience unemployment and/or continue their education. “Entry to a first job is no longer a straightforward transition from school at the age of sixteen. Three-quarters of young people now remain in full-time education beyond school leaving age. Twenty years ago two-thirds went straight from school into a full-time job” (Meadows, 2001). Recruiting young workers who have little labour background and have little but a stereotypical view of labour membership seems a grim task, but the news isn’t all bad. If youth, in general, are perceived to have a negative opinion of organized labour, the perception is wrong. A common explanation of why young workers are not becoming trade members is that they have a negative opinion towards unions, but only nine percent of young people surveyed had unfavourable attitudes towards trade unions. “Research demonstrates that 63 percent of employees under 30 believe strong trade unions are needed to protect the working conditions and wages of employees, compared with 47 percent of workers aged 30 and over. Despite the positive attitudes towards unions, a lack of knowledge about trade unions is displayed when young people are asked how much they know about trade unions. 42 percent responded that they knew nothing at all whilst a further 44 percent said that they didn’t know very much” (STUC, 2004). The lack of knowledge, in large part, stems from the decline of union families of this generation. It has been found that while some young people will join unions if they work in unionised work places, most still do not. This is particularly worrying to union organisers as other research shows that people who do not join unions when they start work, are less likely to join a union in their later lives even if they acquire a job in a unionised workplace. Graduates in particular are unlikely to become union members unless they become public sector professionals. “We can always help present trade unionism in a more attractive light through the media, but the real problem is that graduates do not come into contact with existing unions when they start work. However, the vast majority will have been members of the National Union of Students while they were studying. NUS is very keen to help unions recruit new members” (Monks, 2001b) At a 2002 Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) conference, members admitted that it is difficult to recruit young members into Trade Unions and that many young workers are put off joining Trade Unions because of stereotypical images. In response to these admissions, members agreed to fund the creation of a dedicated Youth Development Officer and to ask affiliated Trade Unions to review their internal structures and procedures to actively encourage youth participation at all levels in the Trade Union Movement (Student Trade Unions, 2002). “But our failure to recruit young members is still a big problem for the movement. We may be able to recruit them when they work in public sector jobs, but 83 per cent of those in this age group now work in the private sector” (Monks, 2001a). A fewer percentage of young workers entering into the employment market directly out of school know increasingly little about trade unions. Youth entering the job market are much less entrenched in the idea of unions and aren’t especially eager to begin work anyway. The unions’ idealistic notion of making the workplace a more humane place to earn a living is being lost on typically idealistically-inclined youth. An entire generation has been lost to the various winds of change and only time will tell if trade unions can regain its 50 percent employment density of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. If the youth are to be recruited successfully, the image of the dirty steel worker that protests violently over seemingly trivial employment matters must be replaced by the image unions prefer to portray; soldiers fighting and sacrificing for a better world in general. The opportunity is there to excite a demographic that typically is excitable over what they perceive as a noble cause. The fading of the manufacturing industry along with conservative legislation throughout the 1980s reduced the power of unions, but with new legislation giving all workers the right to vote on whether they want a union, the battle is again able to be enjoined for the hearts and minds of people who work. The reasons for the problems of recruiting youth in trade unions are varied but the only way to reverse this trend is to reverse the downward trend of labour membership. Trade unions are actively seeking and implementing ways to educate the youth as to the benefits of membership, but the percentage increase of union membership itself is the most permanent solution. Another, of course, is to expand into service areas, part-time employment and white-collar positions thus becoming more popular by shear numbers and by a more varied demographic of worker. References Dickson, Sarah. (12 September, 1999). Business: The Economy of TUC: anatomy of decline. BBC News. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Doke, DeeDee. (24 May, 2004). The State of the Union. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Howe, Darcus. (29 November, 1996). The TUC has been fretting about young people. But it is hard to believe they intend to do anything more than wring their hands. The New Statesmen. v. 125, n. 4312, p. 27. Labor Force Survey. (15 April, 2005). National Statistics. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Meadows, Pamela. (April, 2001). Young Men on the Margins of Work. Findings. Retrieved 11 January from Metcalfe, David. (April, 2001). British Unions: Dissolution or Resurgence Revisited. Future of Trade Unions in Modern Britain. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Monks, John. (10 March, 2001a). John Monk’s Unions 21 Speech. Unions 21. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Monks, John. (3 September, 2001b). Keynote speech to Trades Union Congress. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Schifferes, Steve. (8 March, 2004). The Trade Union’s Long Decline. BBC News. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from Smith, Ken. (March, 2004). Revisiting the Miner’s Strike. Socialism Today. Retrieved 11 January, 2006 from STUC Research Team. (July, 2004). Unions Work: A summary of research on ‘Young Workers and Trade Union Membership’. 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