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Covid-19 has given Trade Unions a boost in their membership as workers experienced employers indifference to the serious risk to the health and possible lives due to the lack of making their workiplaces 'Covid Safe'.
Unions have acted as both a vital challenger and partner during the COVID-19 pandemic in the effort to protect jobs, ensure industries remain viable and keep workers safe; says Unions 21 in a posting on their website.
 In an article which highlights a new study into how Trade Unions have been pro-active about Covid-19 and the associated risks to worker's health and the risks from Covid being spread in workplaces, they publicise the report which investigates how the work of unions changed when large parts of the economy were shut down, when going to work became a matter of life and death, and when work for millions of people, including most union staff, moved into their homes.
The study found that:
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The pandemic has led unions to review all aspects of their work. Unions have transformed their working practices and embraced remote working.
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Unions have adapted to create new digital ways for workers to act and speak together, and developed new forms and methods of campaigning, negotiating, lobbying, training and representation, blending on and offline work.
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Unions have a renewed sense of purpose. A survey of union staff found that 70% think their union is stronger now than before the pandemic began.
The report is written by Tom Hunt, Deputy Director of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) at the University of Sheffield, and is produced with support from The Alex Ferry Foundation. The research is based on interviews and surveys of a wide range of union staff and reps.
Key Findings
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Unions have a reinvigorated sense of purpose. Staff teams have come together, member engagement has increased and deepened, activism has increased, and there are signs that membership will have increased during 2020
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Unions have secured wins for members like the furlough scheme and greater provision of PPE, influenced the national debate about conditions of key workers and put the spotlight on low-paid, unsafe and under-valued work
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In the post-COVID world it won’t be possible for unions to return to pre-pandemic ‘business as usual’ ways of working. Reflecting and evaluating what has worked during the pandemic so far and crucially why will help unions continue to adapt and build on changes made in 2020.
The report can be downloaded from the Unionsafety E-Library here
Note:
Unions 21 is an umbrella organisation and a forum for unions to explore shared challenges, by working collaboratively to develop practical projects and ideas which build tomorrow’s union leadership and organisation.
Source: Unions 21 / Unionsafety
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