Dutch unions

Union density, the proportion of employees who are union members, fell slightly in the Netherlands in 2001. Figures just published by the country's central statistical office show that 25% of employees were trade unionists in 2001, compared with 26% in 2000 and 28% in 1995. (In the UK the figure is 29%.)

Dutch men are still more likely to be union members than women - 29% of men in work are in a union compared with 19% of women. But the gap has closed since 1995 when density was 34% for men and 20% for women.