ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the political dimension of the trade union reforms only insofar as they impinge on economic outcomes, but it does explore the underlying philosophy of the legislative reforms and the impact of the legislation on trade union membership since 1979. It focuses on the decline in trade union membership post-1979 and to draw the conclusions that this was solely a product of anti-union legislation would be to ignore some other important long-term factors contributing to membership changes. The Labour Force Survey has collected information on the union membership status of all those in employment in each year since 1989. Various studies have attempted to ascertain how much unions raise pay, usually by comparing the pay of unionised labour with non-unionised labour. Pay is dependent on factors such as skill, the nature of the industry, the size of the employer and the region in which the employer operates.
