Unions campaign actively for new members

Many Finnish trade unions have begun to campaign for new members to increase the strength of the union movement. In recent years, the number of employees without union representation has increased and trade unions are concerned that this trend will continue. There has also been greater competition among the unions in signing up new members.

The continued growth of the independent unemployment insurance fund for employees (Yleinen työttömyyskassa, YTK) and the simultaneous fall in union density (FI0302204F) have forced many trade unions to initiate campaigns to sign up new members. A recent study published by the Finnish Labour Institute for Economic Research (Palkansaajien tutkimuslaitos, PT) stated that union density has declined by around 11 percentage points in less than 10 years. The trade unions regard the downward trend in union density as a balancing-out phase after a period of active unionisation during the recession at the beginning of the 1990s.

Competition between unions

In recent years, the search for new members among the various unions has become more competitive. This is particularly evident in the public sector where overall staff numbers are falling, while trade unions are competing to register new members in those occupational groups that are expanding. Unions also compete for members in the information technology (IT) sector, as union membership levels began to increase after the bursting of the dot.com bubble in 2000. In 2002, the Federation of Special Service and Clerical Employees (Erityisalojen Toimihenkilöliitto, ERTO) initiated an aggressive recruiting campaign in certain subsectors of private services where the level of union organisation was as low as 20%. By spring 2005, ERTO had attracted about 10,000 new members (FI0510202F).

New strategies to fight declining membership

Trade unions are particularly concerned about the relatively low level of membership among younger employees. A study by Statistics Finland shows that the union density among young employees in part-time work or on fixed-term contracts was just 43% in 2003. Moreover, unions find it difficult to encourage unionisation among employees in the private services sector, where most new jobs are currently being created.

Apart from the decreasing number of members, trade unions are also concerned about the quality of memberships. Well-paid older members who pay higher membership fees are gradually retiring, with the result that unions have had to absorb reductions in earnings from membership fees.

To meet these challenges, trade unions are devising new strategies to increase the level of organisation. In recruiting new members, various marketing techniques are explored, from sending email messages to awarding various goods as an incentive to join. A membership application acts like a lottery ticket. For instance, a new member in Finland’s largest trade union, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (Julkisten ja hyvinvointialojen liitto, JHL), can participate in a competition to win a prize, ranging from a weekend in a spa in Bulgaria, to a bicycle or bath towels.

One of the largest marketing campaigns was organised by the Union of Salaried Employees (Toimihenkilöunioni, TU), which launched a television advertising campaign using a well-known comic book hero. TU also hosts a night-talk service on Finland’s MTV3 where young representatives of the union provide answers to text messages sent to the programme.

Union perspective

A TU spokesperson, Jaana Aaltonen, stated that ‘the need for special recruiting campaigns has risen, since the baby boom generation unionised collectively while the youth of today are more individualistic and do not automatically join a trade union’. In addition, a spokesperson for the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Terveydenhuoltoalan ammattijärjestö, Tehy), Katri Lindqvist, emphasised that newcomers to the labour market should be encouraged to join a trade union.

Pertti Jokivuori, Statistics Finland, University of Jyväskylä