Project Leader: Alex Bryson
Sponsor: Trades Union Congress
Period: March-December 2002
Background
There are two markets for the services that unions offer: employees and employers.
The future of unions in Britain depends on their ability to interest employees
and employers in what they have to offer. This study locates opportunities for
union growth by identifying the sorts of employees and employers who appear
amenable to unionisation but are not actually unionised. It also identifies
those factors that make unions effective in the eyes of employees and employers.
Study Design
The findings are based on descriptive and multivariate analyses of the British
Worker Representation and Participation Survey 2001 and the Workplace Employee
Relations Survey 1998. The study also draws on research using the 1983-2001
British Social Attitudes Surveys to understand what has been happening to union
membership since the early 1980s.
Importance of Research
The research will significantly assist the TUC and its affiliate members address
those issues which are likely to increase their value to employers and employees,
thus improving their opportunities for growth in the future.
Outputs
A report entitled 'Buying into Union Membership: Reasons for Union Decline and
How To Tackle Them' has been submitted to the TUC. It will be the basis for
a TUC report to be launched in February 2003.
Alex Bryson will be presenting findings at a TUC seminar on 21st February 2003 under the heading 'What Makes for Effective Trade Unionism? The findings of new research commissioned by the TUC'
Two PSI discussion papers based on the research (Employee Desire for Unionisation
in Britain and Its Implications for Union Organising and Working with Dinosaurs?
Union Effectiveness in Delivering for Employees) will be published in February
2003.