Why is understanding trade union membership from
Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2025 4:46 am
Rhys Davies explores how he uncovered problems with official UK government figures on trade union presence and coverage – and how the government recognised and corrected the error.
The decline in union membership has been well documented for many economies across the globe in recent decades. The long-term downward trend in union membership in the UK is well known.
Based upon membership returns submitted south korea rcs data annually by individual trade unions to the Certification Office, trade union membership within the UK peaked in 1979 at approximately 13.2 million. Since then, there has been a precipitous decline. Estimates published by the UK Government based upon the Labour Force Survey place the current number of union members within Great Britain at approximately 6.7 million.
This decline in union density is related with the shift in the industrial and occupational composition of employment away from traditional `heavy industries’ over the last four decades, the restructuring of the state (including privatisation, and contracting out and cutting public services) and the emergence of the `new economy’ characterised by the associated forms of precarious employment.
The decline in union membership has been well documented for many economies across the globe in recent decades. The long-term downward trend in union membership in the UK is well known.
Based upon membership returns submitted south korea rcs data annually by individual trade unions to the Certification Office, trade union membership within the UK peaked in 1979 at approximately 13.2 million. Since then, there has been a precipitous decline. Estimates published by the UK Government based upon the Labour Force Survey place the current number of union members within Great Britain at approximately 6.7 million.
This decline in union density is related with the shift in the industrial and occupational composition of employment away from traditional `heavy industries’ over the last four decades, the restructuring of the state (including privatisation, and contracting out and cutting public services) and the emergence of the `new economy’ characterised by the associated forms of precarious employment.