Figures released by the National Statistics Office last week continue to prove that there is a growing trend away from trade union membership.

Although the country’s workforce continues to grow, the number of workers who are members of one or more trade unions in Malta continues to decline.

Going through the published statistics, it must be pointed out that membership of trade unions has more than doubled since 1980 – there were 39,238 members then, as against the 85,679 in 2005. But whereas there was a steady yearly growth between 1984 and 2001, over the past five years trade union membership has been on the decline.

The peak was reached in 2001 when, according to the NSO, there were 87,332 trade union members. Since then the number has fallen – except for a slight rise in 2004 – to reach the figure of 85,679.

But what should worry unions more is that the union density – that is the percentage of union members as against the whole workforce – has steadily decreased, in particular over the past few years. In 1990, 63.2 per cent of the working population was a union member, a percentage maintained five years later. But this fell to 61.7 per cent in 2002, to 60.9 in 2003, to 60.5 in 2004 and to 59.2 last year.

When one considers that in 1990 the workforce consisted of 109,544 people, and that this had increased to 144,741 by last year, it is clear that unions are passing through a delicate time in terms of maintaining their membership base, let alone increasing it.

Times have changed, and being part of a union is no longer deemed a necessity these days, particularly among employees in the private sector. Employees prefer to negotiate their own terms with the management rather than rely on collective agreements, and managements are only too happy to deal with individuals rather than a union.

It is certainly easier to come to an agreement on a one-to-one basis, rather than with a union representing all the employees. The younger generation is more inclined to follow such a system, and it appears likely, therefore, that the trend away from union membership will continue over the coming years.

In the past, workers almost felt obliged to form part of the unions that worked on their behalf and defended their interests. But today, as the level of education improves, many feel that they no longer need union representation. They are capable enough of fighting for their own rights and for their conditions of work.

Added to this, more and more workers are tending to move away from the militancy concept that unions might still hold dear. Such a concept appeals only to the diehards, and has in no small way contributed to the decline in union membership.

At present, unions will not be alarmed by such statistics because, after all, the majority of workers are still under their wings and therefore the unions can still consider themselves as being in a strong position. In particular, the two biggest unions – the General Workers’ Union and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin – still carry a lot of weight when it comes to national issues.

But the unions need to be careful. The mistakes they have made in the past on a national level have no doubt damaged the way they are regarded by the country, especially the working population.

When unions are perceived to be working against the national interest and in favour of a particular agenda they are pursuing, they tend to lose credibility. Workers have sometimes been disappointed that unions took a stand that did not defend their interests to the full. These same actions often also led to an instability that proved detrimental, and not beneficial, to the workers.

Unions have to think more before they act, as their rushed decisions have often worsened a situation, rather than improved it.

Their future is at stake.