UNISON Skills for Strength Convention Richard Saundry Associate

UNISON Skills for Strength Convention Richard Saundry Associate Professor in Human Resource and Leadership Studies [email protected] http://www.linkedin.com/pub/richard-saundry/2a/428/421 Twitter - @RichardSaundry

The Scale of the Challenge Declining density 1980 – 55%; 1995 – 32%; 2013 – 26% A generational issue? 16-24 yrs – 8%; 25-34 yrs – 21% (source:LFS) It’s not just about membership – 23% employees covered by collective bargaining – 7% of all workplaces were unionised and had an onsite representative – 32% of unionised workplaces had an on-site representative (source:WERS2011)

Why it matters - membership and income inequality

Collective bargaining and income inequality

We need to talk about union organising Prime reason for joining is support – individual and collective Recruitment closely related to union presence Organising has had a positive impact but key issues remain: – Strong organisation is vital for effective representation – Building representational capacity underpins sustainable increases in membership – Supporting and integrating new activists key to strengthening organisation