Union membership steadies
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• Trade union membership in the road transport sector has remained constant despite a steady decline in other sectors, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.
Last year 45.5% of transport workers were union members; up from 43% in 1995. In the same period union membership for all industry sectors fell by nearly 1%.
Since 1989 (with the exception of 1996) the proportion of workers in unions has fallen by an average of 3% a year. It now stands at 31.3%.
Union membership in transport peaked at 95.8% in 1979. In 1982 it stood at 90.6; by 1987 it was down to 76.8%. The highest union density is 42% in the northern region—the South-East has the lowest density at 23%. The United Road Transport Union says the emergence of fewer and larger companies in the future should create new opportunities For trade unions.