Are Trade Unions Still Relevant Today?

Date of Lecture: Thursday 8 June 2023 About the Lecture: The UK is experiencing its biggest wave of industrial action in over a decade following a long period of wage stagnation for many, particularly in the public sector. At the same time union membership has been in decline for four decades, raising questions about the future of trade unions. Just how relevant are they in the modern workplace? What influence do they have over outcomes that matter to workers and to employers, and what can unions do to improve working conditions and productivity in Britain? Professor Alex Bryson will draw on empirical evidence from his own research and that of others to explain what unions do, both in the UK and elsewhere, and what we can expect from them in the future. About the speaker: Professor of Quantitative Social Science at UCL’s Social Research Institute.