According to figures released by the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB [1]), the total membership of its affiliated trade unions fell to 6.77 million members in 2005, following a decline of 234,000 members or of 3.3% of overall membership. In 2004, membership had declined by 4.8%, while, in 2003, it fell by 4.4% (*DE0506206F* [2]).[1] http://www.dgb.de/[2] www.eurofound.europa.eu/ef/observatories/eurwork/articles/unions-take-new-initiatives-to-tackle-membership-decline
According to the latest figures from the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), the membership of its affiliated trade unions declined overall by 3.3% in 2005 to 6.77 million members. However, compared with 2004 data, the pace of membership decline slowed down and there was even an increase of 5% in the number of new members. Meanwhile, membership of the German Metalworkers’ Union (IG Metall) exceeded that of the United Services Union (ver.di), making it the largest union in 2005.
According to figures released by the Confederation of German Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB), the total membership of its affiliated trade unions fell to 6.77 million members in 2005, following a decline of 234,000 members or of 3.3% of overall membership. In 2004, membership had declined by 4.8%, while, in 2003, it fell by 4.4% (DE0506206F).
Level of decline in membership
Over the year 2004–2005, the percentage of female trade union members at DGB decreased slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 31.8%; overall, w[](http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=EIRO unions take new initiativeDE0506206F) omen accounted for 33.9% of the DGB membership decline. As indicated in the table below, membership decline was greatest in the Trade Union for Building, Forestry, Agriculture and the Environment (Industriegewerkschaft Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt, IG BAU), which witnessed a decline in membership of almost the same level as in 2004. The German Police Union (Gewerkschaft der Polizei, GdP) experienced an even greater decline than in 2004. Nonetheless, in all other trade unions affiliated to DGB, the rate of membership decline slowed down. The German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall) and the German Union of Education (Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft, GEW) halted their membership decline by 50%, with the GEW experiencing the least significant reduction in members. In 2005, IG Metall’s membership surpassed that of the United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di), making it the largest of all the unions in 2005.
| Trade union | Total members | Men | Women | Women as % of total | Change 2004–2005 (%) | Change 2003–2004 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Metalworkers’ Union (Industriegewerkschaft Metall, IG Metall) | 2,376,225 | 1,943,660 | 432,565 | 18.2 | -2.0 | -4.0 |
| United Services Union (Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, ver.di) | 2,359,392 | 1,943,660 | 432,565 | 49.6 | -4.3 | -5.7 |
| Mining, Chemicals and Energy Industrial Union (Industriegewerkschaft Bergbau, Chemie, Energie, IGBCE) | 748,849 | 606,057 | 142,795 | 19.0 | -2.8 | -3.8 |
| Union for Building, Forestry, Agriculture and the Environment (IG Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt, IG BAU) | 391,546 | 330,405 | 61,141 | 15.6 | -7.8 | -7.9 |
| TRANSNET (TRANSNET GdED) (railworkers) | 259,955 | 205,699 | 54,256 | -3.8 | -4.6 | |
| German Union of Education (Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft, GEW) | 251,586 | 78,885 | 172,721 | 68.6 | -1.2 | -2.4 |
| Trade Union of Food, Beverages, Tobacco, Hotel and Catering and Allied Workers (Gewerkschaft Nahrung-Genuss-Gaststätten, NGG) | 216,157 | 130,345 | 85,812 | 39.6 | -4.1 | -4.7 |
| German Police Union (Gewerkschaft der Polizei, GdP) | 174,928 | 138,082 | 36,634 | 20.9 | -3.3 | -1.8 |
| Total Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) | 6,778,638 | 4,620,365 | 2,158,064 | 31.8 | -3.3 | -4.8 |
Note: Figures include pensioners and unemployed members.
Source: Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB), 2006
Comparison of yearly figures
Compared with 2004, the total number of new members at DGB increased by 5% in 2005. Overall, the confederation’s affiliated unions registered 269,000 new members in 2004, whereas, in 2005 this figure increased to 283,000 members. Some 110,000 of these new members were enrolled in ver.di. To maintain its lead, however, the union would have needed to enrol a further 254,000 new members. In order to tackle this problem, ver.di continued its organising efforts in various industries. In an attempt to improve its representation among retail workers, for example, the union ran a massive campaign to establish works councils at the Lidl grocery chain stores.
Meanwhile, IG Metall managed to reduce its membership losses to a 2% decline. The union was particularly successful in the Land of North Rhine-Westphalia, where 19 of its 46 local district organisations managed to attract new members. Broadening the active membership base is one of the main objectives of the North Rhine-Westphalian IG Metall organisation, which agreed with its local district organisations on clear targets for recruitment and new initiatives. In addition, the ‘Tarif aktiv’ campaign emphasises that only employees of companies where membership is strong can be guaranteed to fully benefit from sectoral collective agreements. Another IG Metall initiative entitled ‘better rather than cheaper’ (‘besser statt billiger’) targeted companies in an attempt to improve their managerial and technological strategies, while a third campaign ‘YOUnite!’ targeted apprentices in vocational schools.
Birgit Beese, Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI)
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