A survey of nearly 1500 New Zealanders shows the majority support a union default in the workplace.
Professor Mark Harcourt from Waikato University Management School is the lead author of a new report that gives the results of a survey of 1471 New Zealand citizens and permanent residents in which 59 percent favoured a union default. The sample was random.
Perhaps unsurprisingly 72.7 percent of union members surveyed wanted a union default; that is, new workers would be automatically enrolled in a union where there was a collective agreement that covered their work. Employees would then have a right to opt out anytime.
Harcourt and his fellow researchers from Waikato University, Professor Margaret Wilson and teaching fellow Korey Rubenstein, and Gregor Gall from the University of Leeds, have been studying the union default idea for more than a year.
Harcourt said a union default would enable unions to expand their membership and place them in a stronger position to collectively bargain for improved pay and working conditions, ultimately leading to a reduction in inequality, reversing a 30-year trend.
The researchers had previously interviewed 42 legal experts, including partners at top law firms, to assess their support for a union default and solicit their ideas about how it could be brought into law. In the most recent survey, the researchers wanted to find out how much support there was for such a proposal across the population and among various population subgroups.
“So nearly 60 percent support introducing a union default, and that support comes across a range of groups, from management, professional, service and retail, trades and labouring,” Harcourt said.
“I think the result demonstrates that a union default is not a pie-in-the-sky concept. It has wide appeal and should be further investigated as a genuine policy option. Interestingly, a majority of non-union workers, 53.3 percent, in non-union workplaces still supported a union default.”
Again unsurprisingly, left-leaning voters were more likely to show support for a union default. And support for a default is strong among part-time and casual employees, the unemployed and those not currently in the work force.
“A reason for that is perhaps these groups feel more vulnerable, more dependent and less empowered than other groups, so they better appreciate the protection and advocacy a union can provide,” said Harcourt.
Nearly 76 percent of Māori surveyed showed support.
A majority of professionals and managers also support a union default. Harcourt attributed this to relatively high levels of unionisation for such groups, many of whom work in the public sector.
He said support for a default depends on whether people have positive views of unions. “The clear lesson for politicians who support the default is that they should emphasise that unions are fundamentally good for society and the economy, for improving pay and working conditions, reducing inequality, providing a stronger voice in the workplace, and better enforcing existing rights and entitlements.”
The researchers are not done yet. Harcourt and his team are keen to find out more about why people do or do not support the default idea.
