Thousands more joined unions in 2019

THE number of workers in a trade union increased by 91,000 last year, new figures show.

The total rose to 6.44 million, the third consecutive yearly increase following a low of 6.23 million in 2016, according to data published by the Business Department.

The proportion of workers who were trade union members rose to 23.5 per cent in 2019, up from 23.4 per cent a year earlier.

The rise was driven by the increase in female members, up 170,000 on the year to 3.69 million, the highest figure since the records began in 1995.

Trade union membership levels rose by 74,000 on the year among public sector employees to 3.77 million, accounting for around fourfifths of the overall increase in membership levels.

There was also a small rise in trade union membership numbers among private sector workers of 17,000 to 2.67 million.

The TUC said union membership had increased by 211,000 over the past three years.

General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Today’s figures show that union membership was growing before the coronavirus crisis hit, and we know that, in the last few months, thousands of workers have been turning to unions to protect their jobs, defend their rights and keep

91 Thousand rise in trade union

membership last year

their workplaces safe.

“The hard work and dedication of millions of workers has brought us through this crisis.

“Ministers must put workers’ voices at the heart of their strategy, including through a national recovery council bringing together unions and employers.”

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said his union has recruited many thousands of new members since the lockdown, adding: “Government ministers have rightly acknowledged the key role unions have been playing through the pandemic.

“We urge them to continue to recognise our place in national life and our communities by taking up our offer of deploying our army of health and safety reps to get people back to work safely, and giving us a permanent seat at the table to ensure we continue to be part of the national conversation about how we build our way out of this health and economic crisis.”

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “During the pandemic, thousands of public service workers have been joining Unison.

“They realise it makes sense in uncertain times to have somewhere to turn that has their best interests at heart.”

Around 65,000 new members joined Unison from January to April.