Unions beginning to ‘gain ground’
After decades of union membership decline, numbers are now rising.
In 2018, union membership reached more than 374,000 members, the highest figure since 2010.
Since then numbers have continued to rise. Last year there were 393,406 union members or 17% of the overall workforce.
Massey University management lecturer, and Healthy Work Group co-director, Zoe Port said numbers rose in part because the younger generation was taking a keen interest in workers’ rights.
While many young people grew up in a country without strong unions, global events such as the unionisation of Amazon and Starbucks workers had shown the importance of collective action, she said.
‘‘There is a perfect storm brewing for unions to gain ground. Covid brought essential work to the forefront, it caused people to consider what they were willing to sacrifice for their jobs, and now the cost of living crisis. All of this drives people towards collectivisation.’’
Into this environment entered fair pay agreements (FPAs), which would offer unions further opportunity to strengthen support, Port said.
‘‘For many people the fair pay agreements will be the first time they have interacted with a union. If unions play their cards right, there is real potential for growth.’’
Mischelle Moriarty is a NZ Post team leader and has been an E tu¯ union member for more than 35 years.
The rising cost of living had greatly increased interest in joining the union at her workplace, she said.
‘‘I can see the value and benefit of having a voice.
‘‘Workers don’t just get handed 10 days of sick leave or better working conditions.
‘‘They have to negotiate for a better position within a company,’’ Moriarty said.
Moriarty’s daughter recently joined her in the E tu¯ union, a situation that gave her confidence unions would provide a voice for future generations, she said.
FPAs would change employment law by setting minimum standards between workers and employers across an entire industry, whether they were in a union or not.
The agreements would set out minimum pay, overtime, leave entitlements and training. The terms would be renegotiated every three to five years.
Council of Trade Unions policy director and economist Craig Renney said FPAs would allow unions greater access to workers in certain industries.
Previously, union access was only granted to unionised workplaces with the permission of the employer.
Under the fair pay agreements, union organisers were entitled to go into workplaces covered under an agreement for the purpose of fulfilling the standards of the FPA, he said.
‘‘This will provide growth opportunities for members because it will get organisers in front of workers to explain what the benefits of being in a trade union are,’’ Renney said.
The biggest growth potential for unions was the private sector, which had half the union membership of the public sector, he said.
‘‘In the private sector, in occupations that have struggled because of changing conditions, and greater use of the gig economy, there is real opportunity for growth. Both because of FPAs but also because of the value of being in a union,’’ Renney said.
Employers and Manufacturers Association manager of employment relations Paul Jarvie said it remained unclear how FPAs would influence the working environment.
But as FPAs created minimum standards for all workers within an industry, it was unlikely FPAs would increase union membership numbers, he said.
As business costs were steadily increasing and not looking like they would lessen any time soon, employers were concerned about rising union action, he said.
‘‘Wages come out of either profits, savings or debt. If you are paying wages out of the last two that is not a long-term plan.
‘‘It really is tough and there is some apprehension out there,’’ Jarvie said.
As 97% of employers ran businesses of 20 employees or fewer, many would not be in a position to increase wages in the current environment, he said.
Auckland University of Technology human resource management professor Jarrod Haar said unions could soon have their work cut out for them.
This year there had been major wins for unions achieving payrises but when the global economic slowdown causing job losses in the United States eventually reached New Zealand, the situation could turn, he said.
‘‘I have been saying to workers over the past year that this is probably the best labour market for an employee that we have ever seen. But it won’t last,’’ Haar said.
Pressure on businesses to combat reducing profits through restructuring or job losses was an environment in which union representation proved its worth, he said. ‘‘By the middle of next year we will be in a position in which companies will first stop hiring and then be stingy on the pay rises,’’ Haar said. ‘‘In the upcoming environment, the usefulness of representation will strengthen.’’