THE UNIONS ARE BACK
Page 32
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Figures published last month (May) by trades union watchdog, the Certification Office, show that union membership has actually risen for the first time in a decade. The figures for 1998, the year that the Government's industrial relations proposals were announced, show total union membership stood at 7.8 million—an increase of 0.6% on the previous year.
The majority of these members, 6.4 million, belong to the largest 16 unions and these include the leading road haulage union, the T&G. Despite these increases, union membership is still significantly down on the glory days. In 1988, total membership stood at 10.4 million; in 1979, it was 13.2 million.
All three major road transport unions, the T&G, URTU and USDAW, say the Employment Relations Act has been good for recruitment, although USDAW admits that it is recruiting mostly in areas where it already has recognition, so that next year's Certification Office figures are expected to show an even greater increase.