Worker Power and Unionisation: A Shift in Dynamics The Influence of Trade Unions in the 1970s and Today's Changing Landscape
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Worker power and unionisation
Trade unions were a powerful force in the 1970s, a sharp contrast to what we see today. The share of employees who are members of trade unions has decreased markedly, a trend that’s gone hand-in-hand with the decline of manufacturing across the West.
Trade union density and collective bargaining coverage
But we need to make a distinction between trade union membership (which is generally low in Europe, at least according to official data) and collective bargaining coverage. The latter is the proportion of employees whose wages are centrally negotiated, and in Europe, that’s often in excess of 90% and has typically changed much less since the 1980s. Negotiated wage growth is the highest in 30 years, albeit it has tracked well below headline inflation, and this looks more like a "catch-up" than any kind of wage-price spiral.
Even in countries where collective bargaining is unusual (the US and UK), there are hints that worker power is growing. On a one-year rolling basis, the number of strike days is at its highest level since at least the early 2000s in the UK and US. That doesn’t mean union membership is increasing per se, not least because the power of trade unions under law in the likes of the US and UK has reduced over time. But it does suggest workers feel they can push for inflation-busting pay rises.
Strike days in the US/UK are at multi-year highs
