Trade
unions: Recruiting young people is a challenge
NEWS
Mari Peegel
10.02.2024 15:02
https://news.err.ee/1609249452/trade-unions-recruiting-young-people-is-a-challenge
Estonia's trade unions have been hit by the COVID-19
pandemic, but trade unionists say it is an ageing workforce and a lack of young
recruits that are most responsible for the decline in membership.
However, the
trade union confederation is optimistic after the teachers' strike.
There are 122 trade unions in Estonia, according to the
Estonian Business Register. Even unions' financial affairs show both paying and
non-paying members.
The Estonian Trade Union Confederation (EAKL), an umbrella
organization, is made up of 15 trade unions with approximately 12,000 members
in total; however, according to Harri Tali, the former chair of the EAKL, when
he left, there were 29,400 paying members – a reduction of more than half in 11
years.
The EAKL, however, does not include several trade unions
with a large membership, such as the 7300-member the Estonian Education
Personnel Union (EHL) or the 3000-member Association of Healthcare
Professionals (Tervishoiutöötajate kutseliit).
Kaia Vask, chair of the Estonian Confederation of Trade
Unions (Ametiühingute keskliit), would not say which EAKL-affiliated unions
were doing well or which were doing worse, but said they were having busy days
and the future looked promising against the backdrop of the teachers' strike.
"The recent teachers' strike has convincingly shown
that Estonian trade unions stand firmly for workers' interests. This experience
is an important signal that trade unions are ready and able to intervene
effectively and defend workers' rights," she said.
The Confederation has a really wide field of work. As Vask
pointed out, the economy and labor relations are changing rapidly, but Estonian
legislation is not keeping pace. "Platform working, home offices,
e-selling, and other trends are here to stay, particularly in the aftermath of
the Covid-19 outbreak. Unfortunately, in the wake of rapid change, the legal
regulation of labor relations has become outdated. Problems such as irregular
and low incomes and limited access to social protection are also associated
with these new forms of work," Vask said.
"While new forms of work create new opportunities for
people, they also pose legal and policy challenges. The EAKL wants to see
employment relations laws evolve more rapidly and adapt better to the
conditions of today's labor market," she said.
Taliga: Declining membership reduces influence
Harri Taliga, who headed the EAKL from 2003 to 2013 and now
works as an adviser to the deputy national conciliator, said that there are
several aspects to consider when assessing the performance of trade unions.
"Impact on industrial relations and working conditions
can be seen at the company and national levels. The size or influence of trade
unions, i.e., how many members they have, their visibility, and the
significance of their ideas all affect this impact," he said.
Taliga said trade union membership has progressively fallen
over the years. "This in itself is, of course, anything but a positive
trend and undoubtedly reduces the potential for trade unions to be
influential," he said.
The second issue, according to him, is how trade unions and
employers are represented in the national social partnership: whether trade
union and employer perspectives are equally heard.
Taliga recalled that 20–25 years ago, when major social
security reforms were made – pension reform, health insurance reform, and
unemployment insurance – the then-Minister of Social Affairs, Eiki Nestor
(SDE), who had a trade union background, wanted trade unions and employers to
participate in lawmaking.
"The government may have some ideas, but it doesn't
know all the working life intricacies and problems. So, trade unions and
employers' contributions is crutial," Taliga said.
Taliga highlighted the number of collective agreements
inked as a key indicator of trade union strength. "Collective agreements
are also declining. The difficulty is that there has been virtually no increase
in collective agreements at the branch level: there is a collective agreement
in health care and one in land passenger transportation. A collective agreement
governing teachers' minimum salary has also been agreed. But there are barely
any other, and there is little evidence of any more coming from anywhere,"
he said.
Taliga said that branch union membership is, at best,
stagnant, and at worst, declining. "There are many reasons for this,
including economic fluctuations. A number of companies that once had large unions
have either downsized or laid off workers, resulting in a decline in union
membership. Another major factor in the decline of union membership is the
aging of the workforce; the new workers who enter the workforce may not join
unions," he said.
Engaging new members requires focus and thought. You must
educate people about trade unions and demonstrate outcomes. He said that labor
unions may also lack the capacity or ambition to deal with new members daily.
Lember: Covid redundancies reduced membership
The Estonian Seamen's Independent Union (EMSA), which is
not a member of any umbrella organization, unites 2,400-2,500 seafarers, port
and hotel workers. More than half of its members work for Tallink companies.
"Had it not been for the Covid-19 crisis, our union
membership would be much higher. Two years ago the ships were out of service,
and some of the ships of our largest employer are still out of service. As a
result, during the two years of the Covid-19 crisis, our membership shrank by
600 people due to layoffs. In addition, a ship with 290 jobs was withdrawn from
the Estonian flag and returned to the Finnish flag," he said.
When asked about trade unions, Lember pointed out that
solidarity in society, which is the foundation for trade unions and their growth,
has been weak in Estonia. "Our society's maturity is evidenced by
teachers' ability to strike collectively. However, some people didn't go on
strike, which proved that they didn't understand that they act against their
colleagues' interests, because they acted against the common
interests,"Lember said.
According to Lember, however, the teachers' strike had a
positive impact on unions. "No matter how good or bad the financial result
of the strike was, it showed that society will not continue to sail in the face
of slavery, but it is hoped that with each nationwide action, people will
realize that this is the only way to turn the tide," he said.
The ruling coalition in the form of the prime minister's
party has certainly not responded adequately to the demands of educators,
Lember said. "As Indrek Neivelt pointed out, they failed to find €10
million to improve the succession of teachers in the education sector, but at
the same time they allow several hundred million to leave the state through big
holes. The management of the state by the ruling coalition is inadequate and
not professional," Lember said.
https://news.err.ee/1609249452/trade-unions-recruiting-young-people-is-a-challenge
Editor: Mari Peegel, Kristina Kersa
