The perceptions of trade unions by their members. A survey report on trade unions in Malta
| Published date | 01 February 2002 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01425450210416924 |
| Pages | 53-68 |
| Date | 01 February 2002 |
| Author | Edward L. Zammit,Saviour Rizzo |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
The perceptions
of trade unions
53
Employee Relations,
Vol. 24 No. 1, 2002, pp. 53-68.
#MCB UP Limited, 0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/01425450210416924
Received August 2001
Revised October 2001
Accepted October 2001
The perceptions of trade
unions by their members
A survey report on trade unions in Malta
Edward L. Zammit and Saviour Rizzo
Workers Participation Development Centre, University of Malta, Malta
Keywords Ideologies, Malta, Trade unions, Val ues
Abstract Trade union members, on the basis of their work experiences and aspirations, tend to
develop an implicit paradigm within which they expect their trade union to function. The survey
conducted by the Workers' Participation Development Centre (WPDC) of the University of Malta
reveals how trade unions are perceived by their members thus attempting to decode this
paradigm. The data emanating from this survey suggest that solidarity rather than viewed as an
intrinsic value is seen as a means for attaining instrumental values. Yet, despite the growing
heterogeneity of trade union constituents there is still a significant group of workers who uphold
the traditional and ideal vision of trade unionism. The survey suggests that, while undergoing
renewal trade unions should hold on to the principles of workers' representation upon which they
were founded. Nevertheless the changes taking place in the labour market also require that new
recruitment initiatives be undertaken. Failing this, the trade union movement may end up
representing merely a ``labour aristocracy''rather than a wide section of contemporary workforce.
1. Introduction
Since the 1980s trade union membership in many countries, has been on the
decline. This downward trend was particularly severe in France, the UK, Italy
and The Netherlands (Crouch, 1992, p. 177). Though recently trade unions seem to
have stopped the rate of decline, the figures of trade union membership for 1990s
did not show any substantial gains. The 1997 ILO Report still commented on the
decline of trade union power and membership relative to the workforce. Between
1975 and 1995, the overall mean of union density in Europe declined from 50.09 to
43.1 (Blaschke, 2000, p. 221). If one were to exclude the northern countries ±
Sweden, Denmark Finland and Belgium ± where, maybe due to the presence of a
union managed employment scheme the union density increased, the mean
density of the rest of the European countries in 1995 would be 32.04 (Blaschke,
2000, p. 221).
This decrease in trade union membership in several European countries can
be explained partly in terms of the ongoing economic restructuring which
entailed large scale privatisation policies and mergers. Other contributing
factors include the political shift towards market pragmatism rather than
ideology and the neo-liberal anti union policies followed by a number of
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The research was carried out by the WPDC and was kindly sponsored by the Fredrick Ebert
Foundation (Malta Office). The contribution made by Victor Aquilina, Junior Research Fellow,
towards both the fieldwork and analysis phases of the project is gratefully acknowledged. A
preliminary report based on the survey data was published in the South East Europe Review,
Vol. 3 No. 3, 2000. The present paper constitutes an interim report.
Employee
Relations
24,1
54
governments. These posed direct challenges to the bargaining power of trade
unions whose legitimacy could no longer be taken for granted in the midst of
such threats to their survival and sustenance.
Malta is one rare exception where this membership crisis has not (yet) hit the
trade union movement. Indeed, as Table I indicates, Malta has experienced a
high and increasing level of unionisation, registering a consistent increase in
membership even during the years when there was a reduction in the total
labour force.
In order to explain this consistent increase in trade union membership one
has to refer to the political and to the economic scenarios. The political scene in
Malta is dominated by two political parties: the Nationalist Party (PN) and the
Malta Labour Party (MLP). In recent years, the struggle for power has
practically been a straight contest between these two parties with one of them
winning power by polling a few thousand votes more than the other. Each of
these two parties, whether in government or opposition, has actively influenced
workers in their choice of union affiliation (Baldacchino, 1990, p. 67). In their
strategy to reinforce their hold over the electorate, each of the parties urged
workers to join the trade union that is more sympathetic to its ideology and
more amenable to its policy. This party mobilisation in a highly polarised
political climate has contributed to swell the ranks of trade unions.
The shape and development of the Maltese economy has also been
conducive to the growth of trade unions. The large size of the public sector,
which up to 1998 was still registering an increase, was another important factor
contributing to trade union membership. This is the sector where trade unions
are traditionally strong. Although the trend has now been reversed, in 1999,
public sector employment, though decreasing in number over the previous
years, still constituted 34 percent of the gainfully occupied (COS, 1999, p. 7).
It must also be noted that throughout the 1990s the Maltese economy was
shielded from the repercussions of the depression hitting most advanced
industrial countries. The rate of unemployment up to the late 1990s was 5.5
percent and the economy registered sustained economic growth. By and large,
the Maltese trade unions were able to reinforce their ranks as they juggled to
reach compromises with both the Government and privateemployers and, in the
process, effectively raising thepurchasing power of the workers'pay packet.
Gainfully occupied
persons
a
Trade union
membership
b
Union density
1995 139,483 78,126 56.1
1996 140,227 79,217 56.3
1997 138,753 80,972 58.3
1998 137,476 81,983 59.6
1999 138,514 84,033 60.6
Sources:
a
Economic survey;
b
Register of Trade Unions, nb. Of this total 6,033 are
pensioners who are registered as members with the GWU (5,320) and UHM (713). The 1999
figure for late returns is not included
Table I.
Density of Maltese
trade union
membership
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