1. Trade union membership in 2016
Carl Roper, TUC National Organiser

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3. The state of union membership

4. Union membership 1995 to 2016 Thousands
During the year 2015 – 2016 union membership fell by 275,000 (4.2%). This represents the largest single year fall since The bulk of this membership loss was in the public sector.
After five consecutive years of growth, union membership in the private sector fell by 66,000
Membership in the public sector fell by 209,000 - Of these, it is estimated that 98,000 were from secondary education.
The total number of women trade union members fell by 194,000 (5.4%) over the year so it’s clear that membership decline amongst women in the public sector was the key feature of the dramatic loss in membership over the last year
Membership in theprivate sector increased in every year between 2010 and 2015 accounting for an increase of over 200,000 members. However between 2015 and 2016 membership fell in the private sector by 66,000

5. Union density 1995 to 2016
Union density, the proportion of the workforce who carry a union card, fell during the year to 23.5%.
This was due to the decline in total membership and an increase in the total number of employees.
Union density has fallen by more than one fifth since the turn of the century.
Union density in the public sector has fallen by six per cent in the last 10 years and just short of ten per cent since 1995.
Since 1995, private sector density has fallen by 8%.

6. Union presence and bargaining coverage 2016
Collective bargaining coverage was 26.3%, representing a fall of ten per cent since 1996.
In the public sector it was 59% and in the private sector 14.9%.
Collective bargaining coverage in the public sector has fallen by ten per cent since 2006.

7. Density by gender, FT/PT and work status
Remember the decline in number of women trade union members.
Density amongst those in ‘permanent’ jobs was almost double the rate for workers in temporary employment (24% to 13%). Trade union membership amongst self-employed workers increased by 30,000 in 2016.

8. Density by industry
The industries in which union density was highest were ‘Education’ (48%), ‘Public Administration & Defence” (44.7%) and ‘Human Health & Social Work’ (39.3%).
The sector with the lowest was ‘Accommodation and Food Service Activities’ (2.5%).
Since 1995 density has fallen in all the highest density sectors. In ‘Education’ density fell by 3% in the year between 2015 and 2016 and has fallen by 6% since Density in ‘Human Health and Social Work’ has fallen by almost 10% since 1995.

9. Density by age

10. Age of union members
Trade union members are older than the workforce in general.
In 2016, around 39% of employees who were trade union members were aged 50 and over compared to 28.5% of employees who are in this age group.
Less than one in twenty year olds are union members and just one in ten of those aged between 20 and 24 were members

11. Where young people work
Sector
Number of young workers
Sector density
Density amongst young workers
Manufacturing
275,000
17%
13.5%
Accomodation & Food Services
640,000
2.5%
0.2%
Retail etc
874,000
11.5%
6.1%
Health &
Social Work
357,000
39%
18%
Figures from the last two Workplace Employment Relations Surveys
Shows that our reps base is getting older.

12. Age of union members 1996 to 2016
Density rates falling among older workers as those who entered work in 1980s/1990s reach middle-age/retirement
It’s often assumed that workers join unions later in their working lives and that’s why we have higher membership amongst older workers
This chart shows that this isn’t the case.
If you read across, you can see that the density rate for those now aged is basically the same as the rate for those aged in 2006 (10 years ago), and that is basically the same as the rate for those aged in 1996 (20 years ago).
The same applies if you take those now aged
Whilst there is some growth in the propensity to join a union during your late teens and early twenties, once you reach about 25 it is becomes fairly fixed. You can see this on the next slide, which pools LFS quarters from 25 years (read down the columns).
So each new cohort of workers has a lower propensity for membership than the cohort before it, and aggregate density rates fall as those cohorts then move through the labour market towards middle-age or retirement.
Density rates of 15-20% are therefore on the cards unless something dramatic happens to bring large numbers of younger workers into membership soon.

13. Union representatives

14. Characteristics of on-site union reps
2004
2011
Change
Male
62%
57% -5
White
97%
98% +1
Average Age 48 49
Under 30 5% 1% -4
30-39
13% 9%
40-49
33%
37% +4
50+
50%
55% +5
Figures from the last two Workplace Employment Relations Surveys
Shows that our reps base is getting older.

15. Union reps summary In 1991 the average age of a rep was 40
In 2011 it had risen to 45
In 1991 one in five activists were under 30
By 2011 just one in ten were
Amongst senior reps
The average age is 49
Just one per cent are under 30, and
Over half are aged 50 and over

16. Britain’s Young Core Workers

17. Britain’s YCWs – Who are they?
Aged 21–30
Predominantly working in the private sector
Working full- or part-time
Not in full-time education
Earning low to average wages.
WHO ARE BRITAIN’S YOUNG CORE WORKERS?
Britain’s young core workers are a group of 3.5 million women and men, all working either fullor part-time and earning less than £10.26 per hour. Nine per cent are BAME, and nearly 10 per cent have a disability. They live in all regions and nations of the UK, and are especially likely to live in the north-east. They are more likely to live in more deprived areas. Nearly a third of Britain’s young core workers are parents.
Three in 10 of Britain’s young core workers have qualifications at A-level or equivalent, which includes apprenticeships and vocational further education. Only one in four have a degree, compared with one-third of all employees and 40 per cent of young employees as a whole.
BRITAIN’S YOUNG CORE WORKERS AND WORK
Nearly 87 per cent of Britain’s young core workers work in the private sector. Nearly half of Britain’s young core workers work in retail, health and social care and accommodation and food services. 
Britain’s young core workers are less likely to be managers or supervisors than all young employees. And they are less likely than other young employees to have access to training.
Britain’s young core workers are even less likely to be union members than all young employees: only 9.4 per cent are union members, including just 6.3 per cent in the private sector, where the vast majority work.

18. Britain’s YCWs – What we’ve learnt so far
Three barriers to collective organisation:
Low expectations of work – just feel glad to have a job
Lack of trust – sharing issues with their colleagues and employers
Sense of futility – what’s the point?
Lack of knowledge of trade unions
Never heard of TUs, Not listed in places to go, seen as not for people like them
Cost, too bureaucratic, ineffective, repercussions
They have some stated needs that we can help with such as training and progression.

19. Britain’s YCWs – What we’ve learnt so far
No silver bullet – just asking them to join wont work
Requires a significant psychological journey to address trust and futility issues – i.e. have to build trust and hope
Getting them on a path to union membership is the goal
During 2017 the TUC will be:
Testing prototypes
Testing agaisnt ability to lower the three barriers
Evidence led outcomes to feed into new model

20. Summary and discussion

21. Ten challenges
Contraction in employment in sectors with relatively decent membership and density
Expansion in employment in sectors with limited union presence
Growth in insecure employment
Not replacing members who will retire soon with young members at the start of their working lives
Same for reps
Knowledge of unions amongst young workers
Questions as to scale and scope of current union organising activity
Flexibility and relevance of existing structures in breaking out
Usefulness of existing legal mechanisms – CAC etc.
Whole movement awareness of the crisis we face?
In 2015/16 – just 48 applications for recognition to the CAC and the average size of a Bargaining Unit was 100.

22. ? What should our response be? We do have a choice.
Manage decline – what we have we hold - even though this may become an even smaller proportion of workers, and will severely restrict our ability to effect change through collective action - we can use financial resources to campaign for legislative change
We can go for growth – but will require us to innovate in how we campaign and organise for new members and requires to question existing rules, structures and ways that we represent. How do we do collectivism differently to the way we do it now. But most importantly to the scale required.