Changing prospects for trade unionism

Edited by Peter Fairbrother and Gerard Griffin, Continuum, paperback, £19.99

This comparison between six countries, Australia, Britain, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the USA, looks at developments in those countries over the last two decades and what future there is for their trade union movements.

The countries concerned are predominantly English speaking and all suffered declines in union density over the 1980s and 1990s. The contributors look not only at membership levels but also union composition and mergers.

The editors conclude that there has been a major recomposition of unions, with a reduced gap between male and female union density and a decrease in the number of unions. Much of this is down to a shift in union membership towards the public sector.

The rate of decline in union density varies across the six countries but, as it is a common feature, the editors conclude with a "pessimistic view of the future in the short term". However, they stop short of pronouncing the imminent demise of trade unionism.