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Will UK trade union membership start to rise again?

Geoff Riley

7th August 2022

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The cost-of-living crisis is amplifying the role that trade unions can play in protecting the real wages of their members

Trade unions can use collective bargaining power when negotiating with employers

Strong unions achieve a wage premium for members

But union membership in the UK has been falling for many years before stabilising recently

Trade union density is higher in the public sector including teachers, nurses and doctors and often lower in the private sector such as retail and hospitality

trade unions
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Geoff Riley

Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for nearly forty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD and Revision conferences in the UK and overseas.