Workers believe that trade unions do have a place in modern Britain by a two to one majority, in spite of collapsing union membership, according to a landmark survey published this week.
The union-backed research group Unions 21 found that even 47 per cent of workers who have never joined a union believe there was a future for unions, compared to 31 per cent who did not.
But while union officials meeting at Unions 21’s conference in London this week welcomed the results, they also admitted they were not doing enough to attract new members or resist public spending cuts after the general election.
Sue Fern, chair of Unions 21, said: “This is an important moment when unions are looking at how the outcome of a general election will affect them. Our survey confirms that not only that there is a future for unions whoever is elected but that there are plenty of opportunities to build on and strengthen our membership base.”
There are just under 6.5 million people in TUC-affiliated unions, a fall of over 23 per cent from 8.4 million 20 years ago. Less than one person in five aged 18-24 is or has been a trade union member
In a survey of 2,224 workers, Unions 21 found that women were most likely not to join a union because of the cost, whereas for men the biggest drawback was a perception that they do not achieve anything. But most workers do not fear joining a union; worry about the career effects of union membership was the least common reason for not joining.
Eamon O’Hearn Large, an organiser with the GMB union which has increased its membership in recent years, said unions needed to have a presence in workplace and empower shop stewards. “We want our workplaces to be that well organised [as if] next week we’re going to ballot our members. We have made a commitment to our members, we will support them, we will train them, we will give them all the resources needed to grow the union in their workplace.”
TUC organising officer Carl Roper criticised unions for not doing enough to recruit in the private sector, where the survey found more than half of workers had never been members. “There doesn’t seem to be a union approach to how we look at those workers. The biggest waste of union money is fighting over members, the second biggest waste is fighting over those who aren’t members.”
