The recruitment of young workers is a challenge which the trade union movement in many countries is concerned with and involved in. Fortunately, more and more people see the need and the necessity of meeting this challenge with active involvement and targeted measures. But why is this a challenge today? Why do young people not see the same need to form part of a union as the parent generation did?
Many politicians in political parties and in the trade union movement have presented individualisation as an element. Many go so far that they say this is the main reason why young people do not involve themselves, and particularly in the trade union movement. This may be partly true, but it is not the only answer. Individualisation means that one today does not seek only one, important identity creator, but several ones (Allvin and Sverke 2000). These developments may contribute to weakening the need for just one, important identity creator, which perhaps the labour movement and the trade union movement earlier constituted for workers.
But, as already mentioned, there are several aspects influencing the recruitment possibilities in today’s society and working life. In several international studies, there are indications of two trends that create difficulties with regard to the recruitment to the trade union movement, namely differentiation and individualisation (Kahmann 2002). The former deals with the fact that as from the 1980s, there has been a stronger increase in the number of so-called white collar workers who have outnumbered the so-called blue collar workers. And it has been more difficult to recruit white collar workers. It is pointed out that this trend has created a larger, although perhaps artificial, elite in the labour market that is not easily convinced about the importance of unity and trade unions (Hyman 1997). With ‘artificial’ I here mean that they probably are fooled into believing that it has to be this way in the sector in which they are working.
Individualisation has to do with the situation where particularly young people are more exposed to an individualised labour market. This means that young people to a greater extent than other age groups are involved in atypical work. They more often work as extra helpers, temporarily and part-time. This is a group of workers that it has proven difficult to recruit, irrespective of age. Such employment relationships are maintained to create relationships in the world of work that undermine the communication between colleagues (hence individualisation), and perhaps also the solidarity between them (Zoll 1996), a situation that clearly can contribute to making it more difficult to recruit people to the trade union movement.
This is merely a rough insight into what is happening in the world of work and in society which, to a greater or lesser extent, contributes to modifying the influence and working conditions of the trade union movement.
But what can we do to succeed? The solutions may be many, and some may perhaps be quite obvious. But the solutions require attention and increased resources. The trade union movement must create loyalty to, and identity with, the organisation. Loyal members continue their membership, also as passive members. We depend on this. After all, the larger part of our members is considered to be passive members. On the other hand, international studies maintain that both loyalty and identity in relation to the trade union movement are on their way out. Particularly young people’s identification with the objectives of the trade union movement and loyalty through passive membership are about to get lost (Zoll 1996). However, in this context it should be emphasised that new and other possibilities most probably will be found to achieve loyalty and identity among the membership, but then using other instruments. But, still, they must be found.
A measure used by many is the development of professional identity linked to trade union membership. A study in Norway (Sentio 2006) showed that Norwegian trade union members feel a reasonably high degree of attachment to their own national union. This is a clear result of increased focus on professional identity in the recruitment work. Through professionally directed strategies and measures in the trade union movement, the wish is to create a professional identity in relation to the national union – something that will produce the feeling that this is where to feel at home, in exactly this profession. Also here, an additional value is created through the membership that will lead to stronger loyalty from the member.
This is an important measure in the recruitment of young people undergoing training, or who just have concluded their education. Giving them a membership that produces an additional value in relation to their training and profession adds a new and stronger relevance to the membership.
It is therefore maintained from several quarters that young people no longer take interest in being concerned or wanting to involve themselves, be it in the trade union movement or in political parties. This is a challenge that we must meet. The essence in this context may be divided into three, in my opinion. Firstly, the trade union movement must place the situation of young people on the agenda in a way that they will recognise and feel comfortable with. Here, we must seriously get to grips with questions such as the right to work, the right to permanent employment, the right to full-time work, and similar working life challenges that young people experience every day. Secondly, strategies must be elaborated in the trade union movement for the recruitment of young workers and young people in general. However, in this perspective it not sufficient to have recruitment strategies, and this is where the third aspect comes up. Young people must feel that they are attended to and integrated in a way that gives influence on politics and developments in the trade union movement, in working life and in society. Should this not be taken care of, young people will most probably continue to feel that the trade union movement does not take them seriously. A last aspect is probably that young people are the best communicators with other young people. It is therefore important that young people are given the opportunity and resources for the work to recruit other young people. Practise has not only shown that this strategy works, but also that it seems to work for the recruitment of other important target groups such as ethnic minorities.
It is therefore necessary to: Develop new recruitment strategies aimed at selected target groups; Make human and economic resources available; and Ensure influence and a breakthrough in the organisation for important target groups.
In this way, we can ensure increased recruitment of young people to the trade union movement.
Sources: Allvin, M and Sverke, M. (2000) ”Do new generations imply the end of solidarity? Swedish unionism in the era of individualisation” Economic and industrial democracy, Vol 21, No. 1, 71-95
Hyman, R. (1997) “Trade unions and interest representation in the context of globalisation” Transfer, Vol 3, No 3, 515-535
Kahmann, M. (2002) “Trade unions and young people – challenges of the changing age composition of unions” http://www.etui-rehs.org/index.php/research/activities/Labour-and-the-modernisation-of-Trade-Unions/Reports-and-discussion-papers/Discussion-paper.-Trade-unions-and-young-people-Challenges-of-the-changing-age-composition-of-unions
Sentio research Norway (2006) a survey for the newspaper Klassekampen. http://www.klassekampen.no/38082/article/item/null
Zoll, R. (1996) “Modernization, trade union and solidarity” in P. Leisink, J. Van Leemput and J. Vilrokx Challenges to trade unions in Europe: innovation or adaption? Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 77-88
