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Union Organization in Great Britain

Author

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  • Alex Bryson
  • P Willman
Abstract
Union membership and density in Britain has experienced substantial decline since 1979. The fall in private sector membership and density has been much greater than in the public sector. The size of the union sector, measured by employer recognition, has shrunk. Membership decline has been accompanied by financial decline. Much of the decline occurred before 1997, under Conservative governments. Since 1997 and the return of a Labour government, the position has in some respects stabilized. Currently, unions have a substantially reduced economic impact, but a continued, if limited, role in workplace communication and grievance handling, often as part of a voice regime including non union elements.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Bryson & P Willman, 2007. "Union Organization in Great Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp0774, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0774
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Walsh, Frank & Strobl, Eric, 2009. "Recent Trends in Trade Union Membership in Ireland," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 40(1), pages 117-138.
    2. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2009. "The employment of temporary agency workers in the UK – with or against the trade unions?," Economics working papers 2009-12, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    3. Bryson, Alex & Gomez, Rafael & Willman, Paul, 2008. "Trading places: employers, unions and the manufacture of voice," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 28501, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. René Böheim & Martina Zweimüller, 2013. "The Employment of Temporary Agency Workers in the UK : For or Against the Trade Unions?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(317), pages 65-95, January.
    5. Blanchflower, David G. & Bryson, Alex & Forth, John, 2006. "Workplace Industrial Relations in Britain, 1980-2004," IZA Discussion Papers 2518, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Alex Bryson & Paul Willman & Rafael Gomez & Tobias Kretschmer, 2013. "The Comparative Advantage of Non-Union Voice in B ritain, 1980–2004," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52, pages 194-220, January.
    7. Gregor Gall & Jack Fiorito, 2012. "Union Commitment and Activism in Britain and the United States: Searching for Synthesis and Synergy for Renewal," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(2), pages 189-213, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    British trade unions; union structure; union membership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects
    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • J54 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Producer Cooperatives; Labor Managed Firms

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