As former Shadow Cabinet member Chris Williamson explains, despite a few crumbs being thrown to trade union leaders in the new Employment Rights Bill, the power of trade unions in the UK is still the weakest compared to across the western world.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
— Chris Williamson (@DerbyChrisW) October 20, 2024
Labour's Employment Rights Bill is a con-trick. pic.twitter.com/YOy0fYOkot
The New Employment Rights Bill: What Is On Offer
The Erosion of Trade Union Rights in the UK: A Decline Towards the Weakest in the Western World
Trade unions have historically been a central pillar in the labour movements of industrialised nations, acting as vital forces for securing workers’ rights and ensuring fair pay, safe working conditions, and social justice. In many Western countries, unions continue to play a strong role in the protection and advocacy of employees’ interests. However, the landscape in the United Kingdom (UK) has shifted dramatically in recent decades. Once regarded as one of the pioneers of labour organisation, the UK’s trade union rights have been systematically eroded through a combination of legislative, political, and economic measures, leaving its position among the weakest in the Western world today.
Historical Context
Trade unions in the UK have a long and storied history, dating back to the early 19th century, when the industrial revolution spurred massive social and economic change. The growth of factories and mechanised work saw the emergence of a new working class that laboured in poor conditions for meagre wages. In response, workers began to organise themselves into unions to collectively demand better pay, safer conditions, and reasonable working hours. The union movement in Britain reached its zenith in the post-World War II era, as unions gained political influence and enjoyed strong legal protections that allowed them to negotiate on behalf of millions of workers.
The 1945 election of Clement Attlee’s Labour government marked a high point for unions, as many post-war reforms strengthened the role of labour in society. The advent of the welfare state, nationalisation of key industries, and the establishment of full employment policies placed unions in a powerful position. At their peak, trade union membership accounted for nearly half of the UK workforce, with over 13 million members. These unions were instrumental in securing significant gains for workers, including the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS), the expansion of social security, and improvements in workplace safety.
However, from the late 1970s onwards, trade union influence began to wane. The election of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government in 1979 marked the beginning of a sustained assault on the power of unions, one which has reverberated through successive governments and continues to shape labour relations today. The Thatcher government, driven by a free-market, anti-union ideology, introduced a series of laws that significantly curtailed union rights. These laws restricted the ability to strike, introduced secret ballots before industrial action, and imposed heavy penalties on unions that breached the new legal framework. The decline in union power that began under Thatcher has continued under successive governments, both Conservative and Labour, leading to the precarious position in which unions find themselves today.
The Legal Landscape: An International Outlier
The UK’s current legal framework governing trade unions is one of the most restrictive in the Western world. A raft of legislation introduced from the 1980s onwards has systematically stripped away the rights that unions once held. For example, the 1980 Employment Act prohibited secondary picketing and imposed limitations on the right to strike, while the 1982 Employment Act introduced further restrictions on the ability of unions to take industrial action. In the subsequent decades, these laws have been tightened and expanded.
The Trade Union Act of 2016, passed under David Cameron’s Conservative government, is perhaps the most significant recent legislative attack on union rights. This law introduced a range of new measures that severely limit the ability of unions to take industrial action. It includes a requirement that at least 50% of eligible union members must participate in a strike ballot for the action to be legal. In some sectors, such as health, transport, and education, an additional threshold of 40% of all eligible voters must vote in favour of the strike. These high thresholds make it extremely difficult for unions to organise legal strikes, even in cases where a clear majority of members support industrial action. Moreover, the 2016 Act introduced new regulations on picketing, increased the notice period for strikes, and imposed further reporting requirements on unions, creating significant administrative burdens.
In comparison with other Western democracies, these restrictions are exceptionally stringent. In many European countries, such as Germany and France, the right to strike is enshrined in law and subject to far fewer restrictions. In Germany, for instance, there is no legal requirement for unions to hold a ballot before taking industrial action, and the threshold for legality is significantly lower than in the UK. Likewise, in France, although some restrictions exist, unions are generally able to call strikes without the onerous ballot requirements seen in the UK. The UK’s laws are also far more restrictive than those in countries such as Canada and Australia, where trade union rights are more robust and legal protections for industrial action are stronger. The result is that workers in the UK are significantly less able to take collective action than their counterparts in most other Western nations.
The Decline in Trade Union Membership
One of the most visible consequences of the erosion of trade union rights in the UK has been the sharp decline in union membership. In the 1970s, trade union density—the proportion of workers who belong to a union—peaked at around 50%. Since then, union membership has steadily fallen, reaching a historic low of just over 23% in 2021. This decline is particularly pronounced in the private sector, where union density has fallen to around 13%, compared to over 50% in the public sector. The decrease in membership has been driven by several factors, including the decline of traditional industries such as manufacturing and mining, where unions were historically strong, and the rise of precarious, non-unionised forms of employment, such as zero-hours contracts and gig economy jobs.
The weakening of unions has also been exacerbated by the shift towards individualised forms of employment contracts, which have undermined the collective bargaining power of unions. In many industries, employers have successfully marginalised unions by offering workers individual contracts with minimal or no union involvement. As a result, workers in the UK today have far less access to collective bargaining than in the past. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), only around 26% of UK workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements, compared to over 70% in countries like Sweden and Denmark.
The decline in union membership and the weakening of collective bargaining has had a significant impact on wages and working conditions. Research has shown that workers who are covered by collective bargaining agreements tend to earn higher wages and enjoy better working conditions than those who are not. In the UK, the weakening of unions has contributed to a stagnation in wages and an increase in income inequality. According to the Resolution Foundation, the share of national income going to workers in the form of wages has fallen significantly over the past few decades, while the share going to profits has increased. This trend has been particularly pronounced in sectors such as retail, hospitality, and care work, where union membership is low and wages are often below the national average.
The Impact on Workers and Society
The weakening of trade union rights in the UK has had far-reaching consequences for workers, society, and the economy as a whole. One of the most significant impacts has been the rise in precarious forms of employment. The growth of zero-hours contracts, gig economy jobs, and other forms of insecure work has been fuelled by the decline of union power. Without the protection of strong unions, many workers are left vulnerable to exploitation by employers, who are able to offer low pay and poor working conditions with little fear of reprisal. The rise of precarious work has also contributed to the growth of in-work poverty, with millions of workers struggling to make ends meet despite being in employment.
The weakening of unions has also had a detrimental effect on workplace safety. Historically, unions have played a key role in advocating for safer working conditions and holding employers to account for breaches of health and safety regulations. However, the decline in union influence has coincided with a rise in workplace accidents and injuries. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there were over 600,000 workplace injuries in the UK in 2020/21, and the number of fatal injuries has remained stubbornly high in recent years. In sectors such as construction, agriculture, and manufacturing, where union membership is low, workers are particularly vulnerable to unsafe working conditions.
The erosion of union rights has also contributed to the widening gap between rich and poor in the UK. Income inequality has increased significantly since the 1980s, as the weakening of unions has allowed employers to capture a larger share of the national income. According to data from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the top 1% of earners now take home a larger share of income than at any time in the past 50 years, while wages for low and middle-income workers have stagnated. This growing inequality has been exacerbated by the decline in collective bargaining and the rise of precarious work, which has left millions of workers struggling to make a decent living.
The Role of Government and Employers
The erosion of trade union rights in the UK has been driven in large part by government policy. Successive Conservative governments, and to a lesser extent Labour governments, have introduced laws that have curtailed the ability of unions to organise and take industrial action. The Conservative Party, in particular, has been ideologically opposed to unions, viewing them as a threat to the free market and individual enterprise. Under Margaret Thatcher, the government launched a sustained attack on unions, which culminated in the defeat of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in the 1984-85 miners’ strike. The defeat of the miners marked a turning point in British industrial relations, as it signalled the beginning of the decline of union power.
Employers have also played a key role in the weakening of unions. Many businesses have actively sought to undermine union influence by offering workers individual contracts and discouraging union membership. In some cases, employers have resorted to illegal tactics to prevent workers from organising, such as victimising union representatives or using blacklisting to prevent union members from finding employment. The rise of multinational corporations has also made it more difficult for unions to organise, as businesses have become more adept at shifting production and jobs to countries with weaker labour protections.
The Future of Trade Union Rights in the UK
The future of trade union rights in the UK remains uncertain. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in union organising, particularly among younger workers in precarious forms of employment. The rise of new unions such as the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) and United Voices of the World (UVW), which represent workers in sectors such as the gig economy, cleaning, and hospitality, has shown that there is still a demand for collective representation among workers. However, these new unions face significant challenges, not least the restrictive legal framework that makes it difficult for them to organise and take industrial action.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also highlighted the importance of unions in protecting workers’ rights. Throughout the pandemic, unions played a key role in securing furlough pay for millions of workers and ensuring that workplaces were safe. However, the pandemic also exposed the vulnerabilities of many workers, particularly those in insecure forms of employment who were not covered by union agreements. The post-pandemic economic recovery is likely to be characterised by further austerity measures and job losses, which will put even more pressure on unions and their ability to protect workers.
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Chris Williamson reveals who the real beneficiaries of this Labour government will be:
Sir @Keir_Starmer's grovelling speech to global plutocrats yesterday was embarrassing. pic.twitter.com/BB3OSLHJ6L
— Chris Williamson (@DerbyChrisW) October 15, 2024
The decline of trade union rights in the UK represents one of the most significant regressions in workers’ rights in the Western world. Once a beacon of industrial democracy and a champion of workers’ rights, the UK has become an international outlier in its restrictive approach to trade unionism. The legislative framework that governs unions in the UK is among the most restrictive in the West, making it increasingly difficult for workers to organise and take collective action. The weakening of unions has contributed to the rise of precarious work, wage stagnation, and growing income inequality, leaving millions of workers vulnerable to exploitation.
As the UK faces the challenges of a post-pandemic world, it is clear that the future of trade union rights will be crucial in determining the nature of work and the distribution of wealth in society. Without a revitalisation of trade union power and a rollback of restrictive laws, the UK risks further entrenching inequality and weakening the voice of working people in an increasingly uncertain and precarious labour market. The time has come for a reassessment of the role of unions in British society and a recognition that strong unions are essential for a fairer and more just economy.
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