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8 Questions: Trade unions

PE

GMB union strike flags
GMB union strike flags

With the government progressing its Trade Union Bill, which proposes higher voting thresholds for ballots, this month’s 8 Questions is focused on industrial relations within engineering. 477 readers responded

1. Are you currently a member of a trade union?

Yes: 19%
No: 81%
Don't know: 0%

Trade union numbers have dwindled since the heyday of the 1970s. And in the engineering sector, there clearly doesn’t appear to be much appetite for union membership.

2. Are trade unions relevant in a modern industrial society?

Yes: 74%
No: 21%
Don't know: 5%

While fewer than a quarter of PE readers are members, engineers do still see the benefit that trade unions can bring. Readers said they delivered collective bargaining and better working conditions.



3. Do you support the right of transport workers to strike even if their action causes disruption to passengers?

Yes: 55%
No: 39%
Don't know: 6%

London’s Tube network has been dogged by industrial action in recent years, with workers often going on strike over pay and conditions. But, despite the inconvenience, a majority of PE readers said they supported the right of transport workers to withdraw labour.

4. Do you support the government’s trade union reforms, which propose higher voting thresholds for ballots?

Yes: 70%
No: 20%
Don't know: 10%

One qualm about transport strikes is that action often seems triggered despite only a minority of union members voting in ballots. So most PE readers support government intentions to impose new voting thresholds to ensure that strikes require stronger support from union members.

5. The bill raises the prospect of making picketing workers give their names to police. Do you support this restriction?

Yes: 39%
No: 51%
Don't know: 10%

The Trade Union Bill could also see picketing workers required to give their names to police in advance of any industrial action. This was a step too far, felt most readers, who were uncomfortable with links to criminalisation.



6. Do you think greater unionisation within engineering would have resulted in higher average salaries for engineers?

Yes: 25%
No: 59%
Don't know: 16%

Trade unions evolved as a result of harsh treatment and poor working conditions imposed by employers. Historically, one of their key strengths has been collective bargaining over pay. Yet readers aren’t convinced that engineers would earn more if union membership was higher in the sector. Professional engineers do not have much history of union activity, and readers felt it was too late now for unions to develop much of a voice. But a quarter of readers felt this had been to the detriment of salary levels.

7. Do you think the balance between worker rights and employment flexibility is about right in the UK?

Yes: 71%
No: 21%
Don't know: 8%

PE’s readers seem broadly satisfied with the current balance between worker rights and employment flexibility. But lots of readers said that they felt the current government was very pro-business, and that this could lead to the further erosion of worker rights. There were real concerns that legislation like the Trade Union Bill would create an industrial landscape that gave too much power to employers and that this needed to be resisted.

8. Can you ever envisage going on strike in your working life?

Yes: 19%
No: 74%
Don't know: 7%

The responses to this question indicate that professional engineers aren’t a particularly militant bunch. Many No voting respondents said that going on strike would undermine their professionalism, and would cause an inconvenience to other colleagues. For these primary reasons, industrial action could not be considered as an option.

Would you like to participate in the PE Reader surveys?

If so send us an email to pesurveys@caspianmedia.com with the words Panel Member in the message box and we will add you to future correspondence.

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