Blue-collar unions continue to lose members

In 2003, the membership of Sweden's blue-collar LO trade union confederation fell, continuing the trend of recent years. It lost about 1.4% of its members, with only the Commercial Employees' Union, which organises in the services sector, registering an increase. SACO, which groups professional workers' unions, grew by 3.5% in 2002, while the membership of the white-collar TCO confederation remained stable.

According to membership figures published in spring 2004, the trade unions affiliated to the blue-collar Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen, LO) continued to lose members in 2003, as in recent years (SE0304101N). At the same time, the upward trend was maintained in the membership of unions for professionals affiliated to the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation, SACO).

LO unions had a total of 1,892,000 members in 2003 (about 250,000 members were pensioners and students) - down from 1,918,800 in 2002, a fall of 1.4%. Of 18 affiliated trade unions, 17 lost members. The exception was the Commercial Employees' Union (Handelsanställdas förbund, Handels), which gained 2,331 members and now has about 170,000 members, mainly in the wholesale and retail trade. The Swedish Metalworkers' Union (Svenska Metallarbetareförbundet) lost 10,417 members in 2003. However it was still the largest trade union within LO, with 379,000 members in 2003. There were also substantial decreases in membership for unions organising in the paper and pulp industry and the forestry industry. According to LO, its membership trend mirrors developments in the private sector of the economy, with services expanding and industry declining. Of LO members, 54% are male and 46% female.

While LO has undergone a continuous decline in membership in recent years, SACO has been growing. On 31 December 2003, SACO unions had 556,000 members - an increase of 18,000 (3.5%) since the end of 2002. The largest increase occurred among students. Some 10% of SACO members were pensioners and 17% students. Of SACO members, 51% are male and 49% female.

The third main union confederation, the white-collar Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (Tjänstemannaorganisationen, TCO), saw little change in membership in 2003. The 19 TCO-affiliated unions had a total of 1,275,975 members, of whom 1,060,754 were active members, 147,472 were pensioners and 67,749 were students. At the end of 2002, TCO had had 1,276,027 members (a 1.2% increase on 2001). Of TCO members, 63% are female and 37% male.