Trade Union Involvement

Author(s): Bob Miller and Donal McDade
Document Type: Book chapter
Year: 1993
Title of Publication: Women's Working Lives
Publisher: HMSO
Place of Publication: Belfast
ISBN: 0 337 09379 2
Subject Area(s): Employment, Gender
Client Group(s) : Women, Employees


Background to the Research

  • Women's Working Lives Survey was commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland in 1990. The survey was designed to:
    • identify factors which determine whether or not women participate in paid work and how the unpaid work undertaken by women in the home influences their involvement in the labour market;
    • record the type of paid work women have done and do, as well as their attitudes and experiences of employment.

Research Approach

  • 1000 women were interviewed who lived in private households and were aged between 18 and 65. The sample was drawn from the 1990 Register of Electors using a 2 stage proportionate random sample. The interview took a semi-structured approach, including some prompt items.

Main Findings

Women In and Out of Trade Unions

  • 55% of women had been in a trade union at some point. 58% of those in work have a union that they could join, and three quarters had joined it (46% of those in work).
  • Membership patters were dictated by practical reasons, rather than by principles. 30% of respondents had left a union, mostly (61%) because of moving out of work. Only 15% left because of dissatisfaction with the union. However, where no union was available, only 14% said they would like to join one.
  • Reasons for never joining a union were mainly due to lack of opportunities, that is, there was no union available (57%) or respondents were not in work (21%).

Level of involvement in Unions

  • 8% of women who had ever been in a union had held office.
  • The higher the work status, the larger the proportion of women belonging to a union: 28% of full-time professionals were members (mostly of nursing, health-related, teaching or public sector unions), compared to 7% of unskilled workers.
  • There was poor attendance of union meetings: 51% never attended and another 37% only attended occasionally, the main reasons being lack of interest (28%) and inconvenient times (26%). 16% said they did not know about meetings or when they were held.
  • Responsibility for children and/or a house do not seem to affect the level of union involvement, although the number of office bearers are small.

Union Involvement and Respondents' Attitudes

  • Level of union involvement did not affect attitudes to women working, level of pay, chance of promotion and her job, or to commitment to a job. However, union members, and especially union office holders had lower opinions of the organisation they worked for.

Do Union Members Benefit from Membership?

  • Union members tended to be paid more, and have more benefits and 'perks'.
  • Union membership increased with pay, regardless of type of work, or whether work was full- or part-time: no union members earned less than £25 per week, while 19% earned more than £200 per week. Women working in a non-unionised workplace were more likely to be in the lowest pay categories.
  • 85% of union members had a written employment contract, compared to 46% of workers where no union was available; 92% of union members had paid holiday scheme, compared to 25% working in non-unionised workplaces.

 

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