The role of trade unions within modern-day society has evolved for several reasons. Social democratic parties have for many years been incorporated into the capitalist system they were founded to oppose and their influence in the trade union movement has dragged the unions down with them.
Still, many low-skilled workers need protection as they have little bargaining power in their fight to improve living standards. In 2019, as part of its pre-budget document, the General Workers’ Union proposed that trade union membership should be made mandatory to “further discourage precarious employment and exploitation in sectors where unionisation is very low, like construction and tourism”.
The Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin endorsed this proposal.
This year’s Labour Party manifesto states that the PL is “in favour of introducing mandatory trade union membership, as previously proposed by the main unions in the country”. The Malta Employers’ Association, the Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of SMEs all declared themselves against the proposal, arguing it goes against the European Charter of Human Rights and the Maltese Constitution.
In a damage limitation exercise just days before the election, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister and the finance minister have declared that the government has no intention of forcefully making union membership mandatory, stressing that talks with the social partners would first be held on the proposal.
Trade unions undoubtedly face a formidable challenge of continuing to be relevant in today’s very different world.
For too long, trade unions acted as lobby groups whose primary aims were to maximise the pay and benefits received by their members and minimise the commitments their members must provide in return. The hugely competitive nature of international commerce has meant that the only industries in which unions have continued to dominate are those with no solid external competition, especially in the public sector.
Trade unions need to conduct a soul-searching exercise to understand why many workers today prefer not to join a union. For many workers, collective agreements mean that, no matter how hard they work or how good they are at their job, they will only ever get the same deal as the person beside them, even if they are considerably less capable and less committed. This is a race to the bottom that no country aiming to excel on socio-economic issues can afford.
Employers understandably fret about the risks of increasing costs and reducing productivity that is often associated with militant trade union business environments. Taxpayers also have every right to expect efficient public services, better value for money and more accountability from civil servants.
Trade unions need to challenge the long-held mindset of protecting the vested rights of their existing members at all costs.
They must focus more on the rights of the customers, the unemployed and low-skilled workers in the gig economy that are often exploited. Trade unions remain important but their relevance will not come from any political decision to make trade union membership mandatory for all workers. It will come from trade unions rediscovering their original mission in society, to work for the common good beyond the narrow interests of their members.
To succeed economically, the country needs workers to be motivated to excel in what they do.
To promote a fair society, politicians must engage with trade unions on how best to protect the most vulnerable workers and this can be done by enacting and enforcing legislation that curbs exploitation.