Attitudes towards trade unions in Malta

Abstract

This study exploits the rare opportunity of a national representative sample, and explores the attitudes of adults towards trade unions in Malta. Data were gathered through a telephone survey carried out among a sample of 1512 persons, representing the Maltese working-age population. Respondents have an overall positive opinion of trade unions, which are seen to carry out important functions in Maltese society. However, slightly fewer than half of the respondents claimed to be satisfied with the work of trade unions, indicating that they are less confident about the unions’ role in offering individual services to their members. A number of suggestions are given in order to stem or reverse the apparent erosion of confidence in Maltese trade unions.

Keywords

Attitudes trade unions unionization union membership

Introduction

Trade unionism is a phenomenon which has had a huge impact on the working lives of millions of persons across the world over the last 200 years. However, current research demonstrates that membership in trade unions is on the decline in the Western world, including the European Union (Carley, 2009). Diverse reasons have been put forward to explain the challenges faced by the trade union movement in various parts of the globe (e.g. Jensen, 2004; Visagie et al., 2012). It appears that one such challenge is the growing social phenomenon of ‘utilitarian individualism’ (Bellah et al., 1985), where people seek to maximize their own gains without considering the needs of the wider society.

Despite its Roman Catholic traditions, Malta appears to be gradually moving away from local and social solidarity towards greater individualistic values (Abela, 2006; The Hofstede Centre, n.d.), following the cultural trend set by the USA and other countries influencing the Western world. The current social values in Malta and in other Western countries promote self-reliance and minding one’s own business (Abela, 2006; European Values Survey Foundation, 2016). Individualism is the antithesis of the little discussed concept of solidarity (Richardson, 2008), a main pillar in the growth of the trade union movement. It has often been argued (e.g. Rizzo, 2002) that firms are banking on this social trend of individualism by signing individual contracts with their employees.

Considerable research exists about unionization levels and unions’ actions. However, there is insufficient evidence about people’s attitudes towards trade unions (Frangi and Hennebert, 2015; Givan and Hipp, 2012). Indeed, there is also scant information about the way the general public views the role played by trade unions in Malta. Such evidence is useful since perceptions and feelings relating to trade unions, whether or not they are supported by facts, result in actions and tangible consequences. The social legitimacy of unions depends on their actual effects as well as on their perceived impact. Pollert (2010: 121) contends that ‘attitudes towards unions are important to the extent to which they predict behaviour’. Indeed, research has established links between general attitudes towards unions and willingness to join a union (e.g. Barling et al., 1991). The rise of individualism mentioned above increases the need to understand the current public views towards trade unions.

This study investigates the thoughts and feelings of the Maltese working-age public towards trade unions. Such a study has never been carried out in Malta. The use of a survey enabling the capture of quantitative data offers a different approach to examining the situation of trade unions than by just considering official membership figures. It has the potential to shed new light on the attitudes towards trade unions in Malta, thereby assisting local trade unions in their efforts to remain relevant by adapting to their changing environment. But what is the significance of a study about a small country for the wider understanding of changing attitudes towards trade unions? From an international perspective, this study may offer insights into the extent to which general perspectives towards unions witnessed in large, influential developed economies make their way to and are reflected in smaller peripheral ones. The political relevance of investigating and understanding attitudes towards important social institutions in smaller European countries has gained strength following the Brexit decision, which has destabilized the European Project envisaged by the EU and generated doubts about Europe’s social fabric. A stable and cohesive Europe requires institutions such as trade unions to continue playing a major role in promoting working conditions and social justice that lead to and maintain industrial and social harmony.

Can the situation in Malta be compared to the diverse range of trade union forms and traditions in Europe and beyond? The following overview of the history and current trends of trade unionism in Malta aims to enable a clearer understanding of the relevance of the Maltese context to wider European and international debates on unionization and public attitudes towards unionization.

The Maltese trade union movement

Before achieving its independence in 1964, Malta was a British colony for over 150 years, and was used as a military and naval base due to its geographic location in the middle of the Mediterranean. Its colonial history affected the main institutions of the country, including its political system, education, civil service and even its industrial relations system which, as asserted by Zammit (2006), was modelled on that of Britain. The Royal Navy Dockyard was the place where the General Workers’ Union, the largest trade union in Malta, representing around 53% of all trade union members (Registrar of Trade Unions, 2015), was founded in 1943. The GWU, which mainly represents skilled and unskilled workers, is left-leaning and supports the Labour Party. Over the years, as a reaction to the GWU’s partisanship, another trade union bloc was formed and united under an umbrella organization called the Confederation of Malta Trade Unions (CMTU), with the Union Haddiema Maghqudin (UHM) as its largest member. The UHM was established in 1966 (under a different name) and represents around 27% of all trade union members in Malta (Registrar of Trade Unions, 2015). The unions affiliated to the CMTU, which mainly cater for white-collar workers, represent around 32% of trade union membership in Malta (Registrar of Trade Unions, 2015). The CMTU was established as a free trade union movement, but it is perceived as having informal sympathies with the right-leaning Nationalist Party. In 2004, a third union bloc called Forum Unions Maltin (FORUM) was formed. FORUM mainly consists of small occupational and professional unions that did not wish to affiliate with the CMTU, and represents about 15% of all unionized workers in Malta. FORUM appears to be more politically neutral than the other two blocs, but has to date collaborated more with the GWU than with the CMTU.

In total, there are 29 registered unions in Malta with 94,014 members (Register of Trade Unions, 2015), representing an estimated 33.8% of all employees (Debono, 2015). These include about 55% of employees in the public sector and a much lower 22% of employees in the private sector. The most highly unionized sectors are education and health/social work activities in which 57.7% and 54.3% respectively of the employees are unionized. In addition, one should note that out of all occupations, professionals are the most likely to be unionized (47.5%), and the traditionally unionized occupations such as operators/assemblers and persons in elementary occupations are considerably less unionized (33.3% and 24.3% respectively) (Debono, 2015). These figures are reflected in the growing relative coverage of employees by smaller professional unions (such as the Malta Union of Teachers, the Medical Association of Malta and others) that are gradually reducing the dominance of the two large general unions, namely the GWU and the UHM. In line with other European countries and also reflecting the lower ratio of employed women in Malta, the majority of union members (59%) are men (Debono, 2015). Older employees are more likely to be unionized when compared to younger ones (Debono, 2015). Besides, most trade union members are employed on a full-time basis and on indefinite contracts (Debono, 2015). While around 15% of the working population are foreign nationals (Times of Malta, 2016), the ratio of foreigners among unionized workers is unknown, but it is likely to be considerably lower than the ratio of foreign workers.

In line with the British system, ‘the established model of industrial relations in Malta is that of voluntary, bipartite, collective bargaining at enterprise level in a traditionally polarised, adversarial relationship between employers and trade unions’ (Zammit, 2006: 2). Despite this traditional model, industrial action has declined over the years and conflicts are increasingly being resolved through consultation and social dialogue. During 2013 and 2014, no strikes were recorded, while in 2015 there were six strikes (Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, 2014, 2015, 2016). Successive governments have strengthened social dialogue structures through which trade unions (and other social actors) are able to assert their views on issues pertaining not only to specific workplaces and sectors but also at a national level. Ironically, disputes between trade unions appear to hit the news more often than those between unions and employers. Friction among unions often concerns the poaching of members and the right of representation at places of work. The government and the social partners are currently working to upgrade the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (EIRA 2002), which should improve this situation. Furthermore, a code of ethical conduct accepted and upheld by all trade unions would also improve trust among the unions. While the unions have to date not agreed on such code, there have been positive developments in this direction in recent years. Most notably, in 2014, the President of Malta, together with the Centre for Labour Studies of the University of Malta, set up the National Forum of Trade Unions which aims to strengthen collaboration among trade unions through the development and implementation of joint activities aimed towards common goals. The forum was not specifically designed as part of the EU social dialogue programme, it does not have a statutory role or power, and its membership is voluntary.

Over the years, trade unions helped to regulate the labour market and improve the working conditions of Malta’s workers, especially through collective bargaining. Whereas virtually the entire public sector is covered by collective agreements, the ratio decreases to about a third of the private sector (Debono, 2015), where larger companies are much more likely to have collective agreements than smaller ones. Adopting Hyman’s (2001) model, like Britain, the development of trade unionism in Malta has arguably tended towards the market-class axis with collective bargaining being the most important defining factor of trade union activity. Having said that, Malta’s small trade union movement has also been significantly influenced by its large neighbour Italy. Such influence is apparent in the growing union contributions at the national policy level, their presence on local media, and their impact on the promotion of social justice beyond the narrow needs of their members. While the absolute number of union members has continued to grow in Malta over the last decades, such growth has been slower than the increase in the workforce, leading to a shrinkage in trade union density (Baldacchino and Debono, 2009; Debono, 2015).

After outlining the Maltese industrial relations context, the next section discusses international findings on the relationship between a number of factors of interest in this study and attitudes towards trade unions.

The relationship between socio-demographics, institutional and structural factors and attitudes towards trade unions

In order to shed light on the reasons behind attitudes towards trade unions, adopting Frangi and Hennebert’s approach (2015), this study distinguishes three common bases of positive attitudes or ‘confidence’. The first type is confidence based on instrumental grounds (also known as ‘calculus-based’), in which attitudes are based on what individuals stand to personally gain or lose from unions. The second type is ‘experience-based’ confidence, which, as the name implies, derives from the experience that individuals have had in the past with trade unions. The third type is confidence based on shared values and goals with trade unions (also known as ‘common identity’). These three bases appear as leitmotifs in the existing literature about attitudes towards trade unions.

Socio-demographics

Most of the existing literature regarding attitudes towards trade unions revolves around socio-demographic or person-centred factors. This section examines attitudes related to trade union membership, age, gender, education, occupation and political beliefs.

Union membership

In a study that evaluated data for 24 countries, Givan and Hipp (2012) found evidence of experience-based confidence in unions. ‘Union members feel more positive about the ability of unions to improve working conditions and job security than non-union members and … former members tend to be more positive than never union members in these views’ (Givan and Hipp, 2012: 7). The same researchers also found ‘that among non-union members, women tend to hold a more positive view than men of the effect of unions on job security’. Similarly, Frangi and Hennebert (2015) found that in Canada, union members were much more likely to have trust in trade unions than non-union members. The more positive opinions of union members may be due to the fact that they would have already benefited from trade unions through individual assistance or through collective bargaining. Besides, union members would also have had more opportunity to get to know and appreciate the efforts of union representatives at the workplace. It appears that the potentially increased expectations of union members do not overshadow their satisfaction with the work of trade unions. Buttigieg et al. (2014) found that union members are more likely to participate in trade unions when they believe that their participation will result in pay-offs. The above findings suggest that instrumental and experience-based confidence are both important in the formation of attitudes of trade union members. It also appears that union members’ attitudes towards their union are affected by their relations with and attitudes towards their employers. Results from a meta-analysis indicate that many union members have a dual commitment towards their unions and their companies (Johnson et al., 1999). Blue-collar workers and workers with non-Western work values tend to have more dual commitment than others (Johnson et al., 1999).

Young people

Research has tried to explain the low unionization of young persons by examining their attitudes and motivations. Turner and D’Art (2012: 35) report that the attitudes of younger workers to unions ‘range from indifferent to hostile’. These attitudes appear to be carried forward from their student years. In a survey carried out among 1200 undergraduate university students in Australia, Oliver (2009: 137) discovered ‘that while students have quite favourable attitudes towards unions, only one in three wanted to join a union after graduation. A large proportion of respondents were unsure of their views toward unions.’ In line with these findings, another survey carried out in Australia indicated that high school students tend not to believe that they could personally benefit from a union (Bulbeck, 2008). ‘Unions were seen as needed only by workers who were too weak to bargain effectively for themselves, for example because of low self-esteem, poor English-language skills, or being female. Few respondents understood unions in terms of solidarity or collective strength to overcome a power imbalance between employer and employee’ (Bulbeck, 2008: 49). Oliver (2009) reports that ‘student employment was associated to a small extent with increased ideological and instrumental support for unions. Students with positive experiences of union membership were more likely to want to join a union after graduation’ (Oliver, 2009: 137). Students’ attitudes towards trade unions are also associated with their type of specializations. Griffin and Brown (2011) found that Australian university students studying business majors were less likely to express positive union attitudes when compared to other students. In the same research and in line with social learning theory, ‘students with parents and friends with positive union attitudes were more likely to express positive union attitudes themselves’ (Griffin and Brown, 2011: 96). The importance of family socialization and vicarious learning has been replicated in studies carried out in other countries (e.g. Kelloway et al., 1996). It appears that ‘family, study major and friends’ union attitudes have a positive impact on young people’s union attitudes, which in turn predict willingness to join a union’ (Griffin and Brown, 2011: 83).

Women

The investigation of women’s attitudes to trade unions is an important topic, since unions are perceived as not catering sufficiently to women’s needs and may even be providing an unwelcoming climate for women (Ledwith, 2012). While a study carried out in the UK by Heyes (2012) does not support the latter notion, women were still found to experience more difficulties than men in participating in union roles due to more commitments outside work. Despite this, UK research indicates that women have favourable attitudes towards unions, despite being critical of some of their actions (Walters, 2002). Givan and Hipp (2012) argue that women should be more aware of the benefits of unions since they are vulnerable to gender discrimination. Indeed, in an analysis of quantitative data from 24 countries, the authors found that ‘among non-union members, women tend to hold a more positive view than men of the effect of unions on job security’ (Givan and Hipp, 2012: 7). In line with these findings, Turner and D’Art (2012) found that women are more likely than men to perceive a need for strong unions. Kirton (1999: 213) suggests that women have ‘gendered bargaining priorities and thus gendered perceptions of union instrumentality’. For instance, women are more interested in prioritizing family-friendly measures than men. In some countries, like Japan, women who were not adequately represented by mainstream trade unions have set up women-only unions to protect their interests (Broadbent, 2005). Similar structures exist even in EU countries like Denmark and the Netherlands.

Education and occupation

Attitudes towards trade unions have also been linked to education and occupation. Turner and D’Art (2012) found that respondents with lower levels of education are more likely to perceive a need for strong trade unions than those with higher levels of education. This finding is expected since persons with lower levels of education are more likely to be in occupations with less job control and poorer working conditions. Bryson and Freeman (2013) found that in both the USA and Britain, poor working conditions at the place of work were strongly correlated with the employees’ desire for union representation. Similarly, Turner and D’Art (2012) found that respondents who are not satisfied with their income are more likely to perceive a need for unions than those who are satisfied with their earnings. The workers’ instrumental basis for union membership and their attitudes in favour of unions are inversely correlated with their working conditions. However, improved working conditions do not necessarily eliminate the desire for unionization, as employees’ expectations tend to increase. ‘The gap between what workers want and what they get in terms of workplace representation remains an important issue for public policy, albeit one that is currently receiving very little attention’ (Bryson and Freeman, 2013: 21).

Survey data reveal that low-paid non-unionized workers in Britain generally agree that unions make a difference to workers with problems at work (Pollert, 2010). Forty per cent of the respondents stated that they would like to join a union. On the other side of the labour market spectrum, research in countries across the EU indicates that higher qualified persons in higher level jobs feel less the need for unions (Turner and D’Art, 2012) as they are more in control of their jobs and work environments. Furthermore, employers or self-employed persons are less likely to perceive a need for strong trade unions than employees (Turner and D’Art, 2012). In a similar vein, in a study carried out among different stakeholders on their perceptions of trade unions in Croatia, Poloski Vokic and Obadic (2014) found that half of the managers and one-third of HR experts believe that trade unions are not required in their organizations or are only needed for minor activities (such as handling grievances). These findings may be expected since trade unions are set up to protect the interests of employees vis-a-vis their workplace management and employers.

Political beliefs

Adopting the lens used by Frangi and Hennebert (2015), ideology has also been shown to be related to trade union attitudes. A few studies have examined the link between political beliefs and attitudes towards trade unions. As expected, given the historical development of trade unions and left-wing parties, Turner and D’Art (2012) found that workers with a left-leaning political orientation in Europe are more likely to hold positive attitudes towards trade unions. Even more intriguing is the finding by Frangi and Hennebert (2015) that Canadian people who expressed confidence in political parties were more likely to trust unions than those who did not have such confidence.

Institutional and structural factors

Despite the above findings, evidence regarding the relationship between individual characteristics and attitudes towards trade unions is not straightforward. In their study in Canada, Frangi and Hennebert (2015) found that socio-demographic variables such as gender, age and language spoken at home were not related to confidence in trade unions. Education was significantly related to confidence in trade unions in Quebec but not in the rest of Canada. On a similar vein, Furnham (1984) found that neither sex, age, education, nor union membership were strongly related to attitudes to the unions. Furnham admitted that his findings appeared to contradict previous research indicating that union membership is related to more favourable attitudes towards unions. He argued that his findings might be due to the fact that ‘union membership is often compulsory because of the closed shop principle and therefore both pro- and anti-union supporters of various backgrounds are members’ and that his study was conducted in a period of declining support for trade unions (Furnham, 1984: 432). These findings point towards the need to evaluate the role played by structural factors beyond the reach of single individuals. The following sections focus on some of these factors, namely, union-friendly institutional regime, organizational structure and workplace representation.

Union-friendly institutional regime

Research has looked at the macro political and economic trends in which trade unions operate. Turner and D’Art (2012: 33) contend that whereas ‘attitudinal formation appears to be more influenced by individual characteristics than either structural or institutional regimes, at least in a European context’, employees translate their positive attitudes towards unions in union membership depending on the existence of a union-friendly institutional regime. In countries in which political conditions facilitate an institutional environment supportive of the trade union movement, employees with positive attitudes towards unions were much more likely to be unionized (Turner and D’Art, 2012). Other research indicates that economic and labour market turmoil might increase or decrease support for trade unions, probably depending on the different social realities of the countries in question. For example, research carried out in Taiwan concludes that ‘support for stronger unions rose markedly between 2000 and 2005, expressing a higher awareness of the role of unions in labour relations, especially in the context of economic crisis or lower economic growth’ (Chang and Chang, 2010: 64). On the other hand, Bielski Boris (2012) argued that recent drops in favourability ratings for trade unions in the USA were related to difficulties in the private and public employment sectors that were blamed by the media, politicians and the general public on workers and their unions.

Organizational structure

Turner and D’Art’s (2012) research indicates that employees working in larger firms tend to have more positive attitudes towards unions than those working in smaller firms. Similarly, Holten and Crouch (2014: 285) report that ‘the larger the firm, the more employees report positive union actions, perceptions and experience, which suggests that reduced union membership [in SMEs] is indeed related to the attitude and experience of employees’. Family-firm owners have a more negative perception of unions than other owners, which might create a climate that discourages employees from union membership (Holten and Crouch, 2014). The same authors found that ‘non-family firm employees more often report being union members and that non-family member employees report a higher degree of union membership, positive perception and experience’ (Holten and Crouch, 2014: 283). Research also indicates that ‘respondents employed in the services sector are significantly likely to be less favourable to unions than those employed in industry and the public sector’ (Turner and D’Art, 2012: 44).

Workplace representation

Some other studies have examined the link between workplace representation and attitudes towards trade unions. Waddington (2014: 538) argued that ‘for most trade unionists the workplace is the location of their unionism and the workplace representation is key to generating collective identities’. According to Turner and D’Art (2012), union presence at the place of work significantly improves union attitudes. Buttigieg et al. (2014: 18) found that union members in Australia are more likely to participate in their unions when ‘their union representatives at the workplace were responsive to their needs and concerns’. However, a survey carried out among trade union members in 12 European countries indicated that ‘large numbers of members are dissatisfied with the quality of representation, even if a workplace representative is located at their place of work’ (Waddington, 2014: 537). Female trade union members appear to be more likely to be dissatisfied with union representation at their workplaces (Waddington, 2014). Overall, there might not be enough trade union representatives at work, or the representatives might not adequately represent members.

Methodology

The study aims to investigate the attitudes of the Maltese working-age adult population towards trade unions. A survey consisting of 18 mainly close-ended items was developed as part of a project aimed at shedding more light on trade unionism in Malta. The project was carried out by the author with the support of the Centre for Labour Studies of the University of Malta and the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society as a contribution to the National Forum of Trade Unions.

The survey included three main sections, consisting of questions about demographics, trade union membership and attitudes about trade unions. The survey was then administered by the National Statistics Office through computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) at the end of 2014 to a representative sample of the general working-age adult population in Malta. A stratified random sampling method based on the variables of sex, age group and electoral district was adopted in order to ensure a good spread of the sample relative to the population. A total of 2008 persons aged between 15 and 64 were contacted, of whom 1512 participated, representing a response rate of 75.3%. Out of the participants, 781 persons were employed. Table 1 shows the distribution of the respondents by age and sex.

Table 1.

Distribution of respondents by sex and age group.

Age	Male		Female		Total
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
15–24	142	18.5	138	18.5	280	18.5
25–44	321	41.8	305	41.0	626	41.4
45–64	305	39.7	301	40.5	606	40.1
Total	768	100	744	100	1512	100

Source: Own research, 2016.

After the data were cleaned by examining and correcting inaccuracies, they were analysed through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Inferential statistics were computed through chi square analyses.

Results

This section is divided into four subsections, namely the general level of satisfaction of the working-age adult population with the work done by trade unions, the reasons for lack of satisfaction, the perceived role of trade unions in Malta, and the extent to which respondents sought help from trade unions.

General satisfaction with work done by trade unions

Nearly half of the respondents (45.5%) are generally satisfied with the work done by trade unions in Malta (see Table 2). However, over a third (36.8%) are unsure and 17.7% are unsatisfied. Female employees tend to be significantly less sure than men on this issue: χ² (2, N = 781) = 7.232, p < .05, Cramer’s V = .096. As may be expected, employees who are currently unionized tend to be significantly more satisfied with the work done by trade unions when compared to ex-trade union members or employees who were never unionized: χ² (4, N = 781) = 61.853, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .199. Similarly, those covered by a collective agreement are more likely to be satisfied with the work done by unions: χ² (2, N = 609) = 19.885, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .181, as are those who have sought help from trade unions at some point in their career: χ² (2, N = 781) = 30.867, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .199. However, among unionized employees, those who sought help from unions are similarly likely to be satisfied with the work done by trade unions as those who did not seek help: χ² (2, N = 264) = 2.685, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .101.

Table 2.

General satisfaction with work done by unions.

			Yes (%)	No (%)	Don’t know (%)	N	P	Cramer’s V
Employees	Gender	Males	48.6	23.2	28.1	781	7.232*	.096
	Gender	Females	46.5	17.3	36.2	781	7.232*	.096
	Unionized	Yes	59.8	22.7	17.4	781	61.853***	.199
		Previously	42.4	31.9	25.7
		Never	41.3	15.3	43.4
	Covered by collective agreement	Yes	53.2	25.6	21.2	609	19.885***	.181
	Covered by collective agreement	No	41.3	21.2	37.5	609	19.885***	.181
	Sought help from trade union	Yes	51.1	30.0	19.0	781	30.867***	.199
	Sought help from trade union	No	46.3	16.9	36.8	781	30.867***	.199
	Unionized	Sought help	61.5	24.5	14.0	264	2.685	.101
	Unionized	Did not seek help	57.9	20.7	21.5	264	2.685	.101
	Total		47.8	20.9	31.4	781
All respondents			45.4	17.7	36.8	1512

N: Number of participants; P: Pearson chi square; ***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05.

Source: Own research, 2016.

Employees’ age and their level of education are not significantly related to the general level of satisfaction with the work done by trade unions: χ² (4, N = 781) = 8.668, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .074, and χ² (4, N = 781) = 3.339, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .046. Type of contract (whether definite or indefinite and whether full-time or part-time) is also not significantly related to employees’ level of satisfaction with the work done by trade unions: χ² (2, N = 781) = 2.082, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .052, and χ² (2, N = 781) = 5.362, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .083. However, there is a significant relationship between occupation and satisfaction with work done by trade unions: χ² (8, N = 781) = 16.472, p < .05, Cramer’s V = .103. Senior officials/managers are less satisfied with the work done by trade unions when compared to the other occupations (see Table 3).

Table 3.

General satisfaction with work done by trade unions by age, education, occupation and type of contract (employees only).

		Yes (%)	No (%)	Don’t know (%)	N	P	Cramer’s V
Age group	15–24	53.8	11.8	34.5
	25–44	46.3	21.5	32.2	781	8.668	.074
	45-64	47.4	24.7	27.9
Level of education	None/Primary/Secondary	49.0	21.5	29.5
	Post-secondary	44.2	19.5	36.3	781	3.339	.046
	Tertiary	49.3	21.1	29.6
Occupation	Senior official/manager	33.9	30.4	35.7
	Professional/technical	49.4	21.8	28.7	781	16.472*	.103
	Clerical	45.9	16.5	37.6
	Service worker (including armed forces)	50.0	13.5	36.5
	Skilled/unskilled worker	48.8	24.6	26.6
Type of contract	Definite	53.3	19.3	27.4	781	2.082	.052
	Indefinite	46.6	21.2	32.2	781	2.082	.052
	Full-time	48.7	21.5	29.8	781	5.362	0.083
	Part-time	42.2	17.2	40.5	781	5.362	0.083

N: Number of participants; P: Pearson chi square; ***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05.

Source: Own research, 2016.

Employees in (the mainly public sector areas of) education and health and social work activities are the most satisfied in general with the work done by trade unions, whereas those working in (the mainly private sector areas of) information, communication, transportation, storage and manufacturing are the least satisfied with such work: χ² (14, N = 779) = 35.105, p < .01, Cramer’s V = .150. However, the two groups of employees working in the public or private sectors do not differ significantly on their general level of satisfaction with the work done by trade unions: χ² (2, N = 781) = 5.521, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .084. On the other hand, while women working in smaller private organizations are significantly more satisfied with the work done by trade unions when compared to women working in larger private organizations: χ² (2, N = 178) = 6.766, p < .05, Cramer’s V = .195, the opposite is true among men: χ² (2, N = 297) = 13.651, p < .01, Cramer’s V = .214 (see Table 4).

Table 4.

General satisfaction with work done by trade unions by economic activity, sector and organizational size (employees only).

			Yes (%)	No (%)	Don’t know (%)	N	P	Cramer’s V
Economic activity	Manufacturing		42.6	30.2	27.1	779	35.105**	.150
	Education		58.8	15.5	25.8
	Public administration		45.1	18.3	36.6
	Health & social work activities		58.0	21.0	21.0
	Wholesale, retail, repair of vehicles, accommodation, food service		48.9	14.4	36.7
	Information, communication, transportation, storage		41.3	30.7	28.0
	Professional, scientific, technical, administrative & support service		40.0	10.9	49.1
	Other economic activities		44.6	23.1	32.2
Sector	Public sector		53.2	19.6	27.1	781	5.521	.084
Sector	Private sector		44.7	21.6	33.7	781	5.521	.084
Organization size (private sector only)	Male	< 50 employees	42.1	18.8	39.1	297	13.651**	.214
	Male	50+ employees	50.6	29.3	20.1	297	13.651**	.214
	Female	< 50 employees	46.4	7.2	46.4	178	6.766*	.195
	Female	50+ employees	38.5	22.0	39.4	178	6.766*	.195
	Total	< 50 employees	43.6	14.9	41.6	475	13.817**	.171
	Total	50+ employees	45.8	26.4	27.8	475	13.817**	.171

N: Number of participants; P: Pearson chi square; ***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05.

Source: Own research, 2016.

Reasons for lack of satisfaction with the work done by trade unions

Gender is significantly related to the main reason for lack of satisfaction with the work done by trade unions in Malta: χ² (4, N = 163) = 12.632, p < .05, Cramer’s V = .278. The largest group of employed respondents who are not satisfied with the work done by trade unions in Malta believe that trade unions do not truly help or provide for the needs of employees (54.0%) (see Table 5). Considerably more women than men hold this view. The second most common reason is that unions are perceived to be politically partisan (20.9%). Considerably more men than women hold this view. The third reason given is that trade unions are perceived to be driven by their personal interest or the agenda of the people they know (11.0%). There is no gender difference here.

Table 5.

Main reason for lack of satisfaction with work done by trade unions in Malta (employees who are unsatisfied with trade unions only, N = 163).^a

	Male (%)	Female (%)	Total (%)	P	Cramer’s V
Don’t truly help or provide for the needs of employees	47.7	66.7	54.0	12.632*	.278
Unions are politically partisan	25.7	11.1	20.9
Trade unions are driven by their personal interest or the agenda of the people they know^b	11.0	11.1	11.0
Don’t know/ Don’t wish to comment^b	1.8	7.4	3.7
Other reasons^a	13.8	3.7	10.4

The number of participants is 163 as it only includes those who stated being unsatisfied with the work done by trade unions in Malta.

Treat with caution due to small sample size.

P: Pearson chi square; ***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05.

Source: Own research, 2016.

Role of trade unions in Malta

As can be seen from the Table 6, the majority of all the respondents believe that trade unions play an important role in Malta in protecting the rights of workers at the workplace (70.9%), in contributing to national debates (69.0%), in seeking unity among workers (68.4%), and to a somewhat lesser extent, in offering individual services to their members (57.0%). Unionized employees are significantly more likely than non-unionized employees to believe that trade unions play an important role in Malta in: protecting the rights of workers at the workplace: χ² (2, N = 781) = 31.098, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .200; offering individual services to their members: χ² (2, N = 781) = 55.928, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .268; and seeking unity among workers: χ² (2, N = 781) = 6.375, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .200, but not in contributing to national debates: χ² (2, N = 781) = 3.847 p > .05, Cramer’s V = .070.

Table 6.

Whether trade unions play an important role in Malta.

		Yes (%)	No (%)	Don’t know (%)	N	P	Cramer’s V
Protecting the rights of workers at the workplace	Unionized emp.	79.2	13.6	7.2	781	31.098***	.200
	Non-unionized emp.	66.9	9.9	23.2	781	31.098***	.200
	All respondents	70.9	9.1	20.0	1512
Offering individual services to their members	Unionized emp.	71.6	16.7	11.7	781	55.928***	.268
	Non-unionized emp.	52.6	10.3	37.1	781	55.928***	.268
	All respondents	57.0	10.8	32.2	1512
Seeking unity among workers	Unionized emp.	73.1	11.7	15.2	781	6.375*	.200
	Non-unionized emp.	65.5	10.6	22.8	781	6.375*	.200
	All respondents	68.4	9.7	21.9	1512
Contributing in national debates	Unionized emp.	75.0	7.6	17.4	781	3.847	.070
	Non-unionized emp.	70.2	6.4	23.4	781	3.847	.070
	All respondents	69.0	6.9	24.1	1512

N: Number of participants; P: Pearson chi square; ***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05.

Source: Own research, 2016.

Seeking help from a trade union

Nearly a third (30.0%) of all employees admitted to having sought help from a trade union at some point in their career (see Table 7). Out of all unionized respondents, over half (54.2%) had sought help, a figure which is very similar to respondents who were previously unionized (51.4%). The difference between these two groups and employees who have never been unionized is significant: χ² (2, N = 781) = 211.189, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .520. However, there are no significant gender differences in whether employees sought help from a trade union: χ² (1, N = 781) = 1.902, p > .05, Cramer’s V = .049.

Table 7.

Extent to which respondents had sought help from a trade union.

			Yes (%)	No (%)	N	P	Cramer’s V
Employees	Gender	Males	32.2	67.8	781	1.902	.049
	Gender	Females	27.6	72.4	781	1.902	.049
	Unionized	Yes	54.2	45.8	781	211.189***	.520
		Previously	51.4	48.6
		Never	5.4	94.6
	Total		30.0	69.7	781
All respondents			24.1	75.9	1512

N: Number of participants; P: Pearson chi square; ***p < .001; **p < .01; *p < .05.

Source: Own research, 2016.

Discussion

The Maltese working-age adult population appears to have an overall positive opinion of trade unions. Indeed, 70.9% of the respondents believe that unions play an important role in protecting the rights of workers at the workplace and 68.4% state that unions play an important role in seeking unity among workers. The figures are similar to large-scale research findings indicating that 72% of Europeans agree that workers need trade unions to protect their pay and working conditions (Turner and D’Art, 2012). Respondents in the current study also believe that unions play an important role in contributing to national debates (69%), suggesting that unions are deemed to be relevant with regard to policy formation in Malta. In line with an earlier study by Zammit and Rizzo (2003), trade unions in Malta do not seem be suffering from a ‘crisis of legitimacy’. This does not mean that trade unionism is not experiencing any difficulties with regard to its image. There might have been some erosion of confidence towards trade unions among their members over the past 15 years. Indeed, survey data for 1999 revealed that a very high proportion of Maltese trade union members (89.7%) believed that unions were needed by society (Zammit and Rizzo, 2003). The figure is considerably higher than the amount of confidence expressed by trade union members about the role of trade unions in the current study, which varies from 71.6% to 79.2% depending on the type of role being examined.

The above-mentioned positive opinions about trade unions’ effectiveness at a national level do not necessarily translate into confidence about their role at a more personal level. The working-age adult population and employees are less confident about the trade unions’ role in offering individual services to their members, when compared to the other roles of unions examined. Furthermore, the general level of satisfaction expressed by the working-age adult population and employees with the work done by trade unions is lower than that about offering individual services to their members. Unsatisfied respondents believe that unions do not truly help or provide for the needs of employees. The rather high rate of dissatisfaction with trade unions among employees in manufacturing and information, communication, transportation and storage (where nearly a third stated being unhappy about the work done by trade unions) might be linked to the turmoil associated with downsizing and rationalization that these sectors have undergone in Malta over recent years, and particularly in the wake of the global 2008 recession. The difficult realities faced by workers in particular sectors might influence their perception of trade union efficacy. In line with research in other countries (Poloski Vokic and Obadic, 2014; Turner and D’Art, 2012), senior officials/managers in Malta are also not particularly satisfied with the work done by trade unions. Having said that, it is important to note that the respondents generally express rather low levels of clear dissatisfaction towards unions. Many ‘don’t know’ answers indicate that a section of the respondents do not have clear opinions about trade unions, in line with previous qualitative local research (Cutajar, 2013). Among employees, it is women, those who were never unionized, those not covered by a collective agreement, those who have never sought help from trade unions and those employed in small organizations who appear to be particularly undecided.

The above findings, coupled by the fact that the majority of unionized or previously unionized respondents used the union for personal defence or gain, indicate ‘instrumental grounds’ as a major reason for confidence in unions in Malta. These findings are in line with Zammit and Rizzo (2003), who found that ‘the value of solidarity that traditionally acts as a unifying force among workers may not be highly esteemed by Maltese trade union members. Rather than pursued as an intrinsic value, solidarity tends to be regarded as a means to secure instrumental interests’ (Zammit and Rizzo, 2003: 151).

The evidence for the relevance of experience-based confidence in trade unions is less clear than that for instrumental value. In line with Givan and Hipp (2012), unionized employees in Malta are significantly more satisfied with trade unions than non-unionized employees. A high 59.8% of employees expressed clear satisfaction with the work done by trade unions. Furthermore, there is no significant difference in the levels of satisfaction between unionized members who have sought help from trade unions and those who have not – so the aspect of personal gain among unionized members does not strongly influence members’ satisfaction. Looking at specific economic sectors, employees in education and health/social work activities are more unionized than employees in other sectors (Debono, 2015) and are also more satisfied with trade unions. The experience of employees in unions might indeed improve their perception of trade unions. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of this study, one cannot prove the causality of relations among variables. Indeed, one might provide different but still plausible explanations for the relationship. For example, following Shulruf et al. (2010), those who have positive views towards trade unions could be more likely to join them. In any case, trade unionists hold such positive perceptions despite the dissatisfaction that might have been generated by the higher expectations developed through their trade union membership.

In line with previous research (Walters, 2002), there are clues that working women in Malta might be more alienated from trade unions than men. In fact, a significantly larger percentage of women are not sure whether they are satisfied with the work done by trade unions. Working women appear to experience gendered needs at work (Kirton, 1999), and in line with Broadbent (2005), the services offered by unions in Malta might not be sufficiently gender-sensitive. This observation derives from the particularly high number of women who believe that unions do not truly help or provide for the needs of employees. Trade unions in Malta, whose leadership is almost exclusively dominated by men, might not be sufficiently pushing forward measures, including those relating to work–life balance, which female workers find more relevant. This study also indicates that while men working in large private sector organizations are more satisfied with trade unions than those working in small private sector organizations, the opposite is true among women. Women working in larger organizations might perceive their needs to be less catered for – their voice might be less heard or given less importance in larger organizations with presumably more bureaucratic structures and traditional systems. On the other hand, trade unions might be in a better position to hear the needs of women in smaller organizations and get the message across to management.

As argued in the introduction to this study, attitudes are relevant to research inasmuch as they facilitate the understanding and predicting of behaviour. This study indicates the limitations of using attitudes about trade unions to predict actual unionization. Whereas employees’ attitudes towards trade unions in Malta are rather positive (ranging from about 70% of employees who believe that trade unions play an important role in protecting the rights of workers, to about half who are satisfied with the work done by unions), only about a third of them are actually registered as unionized (Debono, 2015); and, of those working in the private sector, only around a quarter are covered by a collective agreement (Baldacchino and Gatt, 2009). Positive attitudes do not always lead to action; and as will be discussed below, this may be due to various reasons including insufficient opportunity. Similar findings have been reported elsewhere. For example, Pollert (2010) found that neither general attitudes nor specific beliefs about unions predicted whether workers would seek to involve unions in resolving a problem, leading her to conclude that attitudes might be less important in predicting actual behaviour than previously thought. The findings might indicate the phenomenon of ‘frustrated demand’ (Pollert, 2010), in which positive views about trade unions do not result in unionization as costs outweigh benefits. Besides this, according to Turner and D’Art (2012: 34), while the formation of attitudes in Europe appears to be more influenced by individual characteristics than structural or institutional ones, ‘the extent to which positive attitudes convert into actual union membership appears to be critically dependent on a union-friendly institutional regime’. Indeed, structural and institutional factors seem to play a role in reducing membership in Maltese unions. In line with both Pollert (2010) and Turner and D’Art (2012), Debono (2015) found that a sizeable number of employees do not join unions for reasons such as not having a trade union at the workplace, or being discouraged from (or not allowed to) join trade unions, particularly in small, family-owned firms. Joining a trade union is not a neutral activity and involves risks to employees as it may indicate resistance to the organization. However, apart from such ‘negative’ reasons for not joining unions, there are also more ‘positive’ ones. Thus, despite having favourable attitudes towards unions, employees might also not join unions if they are already benefiting from beneficial conditions granted to them by management. Indeed, a survey carried out in New Zealand suggests that the main reason for not becoming a trade union member is high job satisfaction (Shulruf et al., 2010). ‘Non-unionized employees expressed greater loyalty to their employers and believed they had better employment relations with their employers than unionized employees’ (Shulruf et al., 2010: 238). Similarly, in a study carried out in the USA, Goeddeke and Kammeyer-Mueller (2010: 65) concluded that ‘an individual’s participation in a union recognition effort depends not only on union instrumentality, but also upon social relationships with the union and administration’. It is also interesting to note that most employees in Malta join unions to be protected from discrimination or to improve working conditions (Debono, 2015). Thus, one can hypothesize that a sizeable number of employees do not join unions if they feel that not only are they not being discriminated at work, but they are treated well by management. Finally, irrespective of structural and institutional factors that may influence membership, one should emphasize that attitudes are complex phenomena and individuals may at times harbour seemingly conflicting attitudes without difficulty. Thus, individuals might have generally positive attitudes towards trade unions while at the same time feeling that they could not personally benefit from them. Indeed, Debono (2015) found that the main reason for respondents not joining trade unions in Malta is lack of interest and the feeling that they do not need a trade union as they can look after themselves. When generic and specific attitudes do not match, specific ones tend to be more powerful and may more likely affect specific action (or lack of it) (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980).

Satisfaction with the work done by trade unions is not significantly related to a number of personal and work characteristics, namely age and qualifications, and whether persons work in the public or private sector, on definite or indefinite contracts, and on a full-time or part-time basis. However, the latter characteristics are strongly linked to unionization in Malta (Debono, 2015). How can such personal characteristics not be related to general attitudes towards trade unions but at the same time be related to union membership? Once more, the explanatory power of attitudes appears to be limited, probably due to the intervening influence of other factors within or outside the person’s sphere of influence, such as the larger socio-economic context in which the research takes place. Indeed, there might be different intervening variables according to different socio-demographic groups (e.g. Oliver, 2009). By not confirming some of the mainstream research findings in this field (e.g. Turner and D’Art, 2012), the current study indicates the complexity of the relationship among attitudes, socio-demographic and structural characteristics and unionization, and provides support to other research which tends not to find strong relations among the studied variables (e.g. Frangi and Hennebert, 2015; Furnham, 1984).

Conclusion

This study paints a generally positive picture of the attitudes towards trade unions in Malta. Having said that, some erosion in confidence appears to have taken place over recent years. In addition, it seems that a considerable number of persons are not aware of or not satisfied with the services offered by unions to their members, which is of concern especially since people often appear to join a union and remain members on instrumental grounds.

The visible role of trade unions at a national policy level does not make up for the less visible work carried out more directly to help their members. Public relations (PR) campaigns highlighting unions’ services among the general public may be a good step to help reverse perceptions that unions do not truly help employees, are politically partisan and are driven by hidden agendas. If PR campaigns were held under the aegis of the National Forum of Trade Unions, unions could join these efforts, thus achieving economies of scale, especially since most unions in Malta are small and not always well organized. By showing a united front, unions can improve the general perception towards them which has, over the years, been tarnished with recurring and often sensationalized media coverage of inter-union disputes. Awareness exercises should also take place through educational institutions, including schools and universities (Zammit and Rizzo, 2003) due to the influence that these have on young persons’ attitudes towards and willingness to join unions (Griffin and Brown, 2011).

Research shows the importance of having shop stewards at the place of work as a major way of improving perceptions towards trade unions (Turner and D’Art, 2012; Waddington, 2014). Unions should strive to increase the number of shop stewards, especially in poorly unionized economic sectors. Besides, unions should also focus their efforts to improve the performance of shop stewards since, as noted in the literature review (Waddington, 2014), many trade union members in Europe are dissatisfied with the quality of representation. Shop stewards should receive regular training especially regarding employees’ rights and responsibilities, and soft skills. Shop stewards should befriend and educate employees. Unions’ efforts at the places of work should focus on those who appear to be the most alienated from trade unions, namely women, those never unionized, those not covered by collective agreements, those who have never sought help from trade unions, those employed in small organizations and those working in manufacturing and transportation. Even if probably more difficult, efforts should also be directed to try to reduce employees’ isolation, in a bid to ignite the declining phenomenon of solidarity at work. To achieve this, Richardson (2008) suggests collective bargaining that takes into consideration solidarity, plus a deeper union evaluation of the effects of technology and work reorganization measures on social interaction and employee networking. In line with Richardson (2008), it is also important for unions to create mechanisms for solidarity building such as programmes that encourage informal interaction among trade union members outside the workplace.

This study, based on an analysis of data deriving from a representative sample of the Maltese working-age population, sheds light on the general attitudes towards trade unions in Malta. It provides stakeholders with important feedback from different social groups towards trade unionism, and may be used as a basis to strengthen the Maltese trade union movement. The methodology used in this study also enables the results to be compared to trends across other countries, thus enriching European and international trade union research.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author biography

Manwel Debono is a chartered occupational psychologist and holds a PhD in career choice and development. He is a former director of the Centre for Labour Studies at the University of Malta, where he currently works as a senior lecturer.

References

Abela

(2006) Shaping a national identity. International Journal of Sociology 35(4): 10–27.

Ajzen

Fishbein

(1980) Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Baldacchino

Debono

(2009) Trade Union Density in Malta from 1953 to 2008. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Available at: www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/articles/trade-union-density-in-malta-from-1953-to-2008 (accessed 25 July 2016).

Baldacchino

Gatt

(2009) Thirteen years later: Trade unions in the Maltese private sector revisited. Bank of Valletta Review 40: 29–45.

Barling

Kelloway

Bremermann

(1991) Preemployment predictors of union attitudes: The role of family socialization and work beliefs. Journal of Applied Psychology 76(5): 725–731.

Bellah

Madsen

Sullivan

, et al. (1985) Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Bielski Boris

(2012) Public perceptions of unions. Labor Studies Journal 37(1): 5–6.

Broadbent

(2005) ‘For women, by women’: Women-only unions in Japan. Japan Forum 17(2): 213–230.

Bryson

Freeman

(2013) Employee perceptions of working conditions and the desire for worker representation in Britain and the US. Journal of Labor Research 34(1): 1–29.

10.

Bulbeck

(2008) Only ‘victim’ workers need unions? Perceptions of trade unions amongst young Australians. Labour and Industry 19(1/2): 49–71.

11.

Buttigieg

Deery

Iverson

(2014) Voice within trade unions? A test of the voice and loyalty hypothesis. Journal of Industrial Relations 56(1): 3–23.

12.

Carley

(2009) Trade Union Membership 2003–2008. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Available at: www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/studies/tn0904019s/tn0904019s.htm (accessed 11 December 2015).

13.

Chang

(2010) Who cares for unions? Public attitudes toward union power in Taiwan, 1990–2005. China Perspectives 3: 64–78.

14.

Cutajar

(2013) Perceptions of trade unions held by workers in Malta: A case study. MBA dissertation, University of Malta.

15.

Debono

(2015) A National Survey on Trade Unions in Malta – November 2015. The President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society and the Centre for Labour Studies, Malta.

16.

Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (2014) DIER Annual Report 2013. Available at: http://dier.gov.mt/en/About-DIER/Archives/DIER%20Annual%20Reports/Documents/Annual%20Report-DIER%202013.pdf (accessed 27 July 2016).

17.

Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (2015) DIER Annual Report 2014. Available at: http://dier.gov.mt/en/About-DIER/Archives/DIER%20Annual%20Reports/Documents/Annual%20Report-DIER%202014.pdf (accessed 27 July 2016).

18.

Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (2016) DIER Annual Report 2015. Available at: http://dier.gov.mt/en/About-DIER/Archives/DIER%20Annual%20Reports/Documents/Rapport%20Annwali-DIER%202015.pdf (accessed 27 July 2016).

19.

European Values Survey Foundation (2016) European Values Study 2008, 4th Wave, Integrated Dataset. Available at: www.europeanvaluesstudy.eu/ (accessed 27 July 2016).

20.

Frangi

Hennebert

(2015) Expressing confidence in unions in Quebec and the other Canadian provinces: Similarities and contrasts in findings. Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations 70(1): 131–156.

21.

Furnham

(1984) The protestant work ethic, voting behaviour and attitudes to the trade unions. Political Studies 32(3): 420–436.

22.

Givan

Hipp

(2012) Public perceptions of union efficacy: A twenty four country study. Labour Studies Journal 37(1): 7–32.

23.

Goeddeke

Kammeyer-Mueller

(2010) Perceived support in a dual organizational environment: Union participation in a university setting. Journal of Organizational Behavior 31(1): 65–83.

24.

Government of Malta (2002) Employment and Industrial Relations Act. Available at: www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=8918 (accessed 25 July 2016).

25.

Griffin

Brown

(2011) Second hand views? Young people, social networks and positive union attitudes. Labour and Industry 22(1–2): 83–101.

26.

Heyes

(2012) Trade union members’ participation at branch and regional levels: A comparison of women and men in UNISON. Journal of Industrial Relations 54(5): 669–687.

27.

Holten

Crouch

(2014) Unions in small and medium-sized enterprises: A family factor perspective. European Journal of Industrial Relations 20(3): 273–290.

28.

Hyman

(2001) Understanding European Trade Unionism: Between Market, Class and Society. London: Sage.

29.

Jensen

(2004) Trade unionism: Differences and similarities – A comparative view on Europe, USA and Asia. In: IIRA Congress, Seoul, June 2004.

30.

Johnson

Patterson

(1999) Moderators of the relationship between company and union commitment: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychology 133(1): 85–103.

31.

Kelloway

Barling

Agar

(1996) Pre-employment predictors of children’s union attitudes: The moderating role of identification with parents. Journal of Social Psychology 136(3): 413–415.

32.

Kirton

(1999) Sustaining and developing women’s trade union activism: A gendered project. Gender, Work and Organization 6(4): 213–223.

33.

Ledwith

(2012) Gender politics in trade unions. The representation of women between exclusion and inclusion. Transfer 18(2): 185–199.

34.

Oliver

(2009) University student employment and experiences of union membership. Labour and Industry 19(3): 137–156.

35.

Pollert

(2010) Spheres of collectivism: Group action and perspectives on trade unions among the low-paid unorganized with problems at work. Capital and Class 34(1): 115–125.

36.

Poloski Vokic

Obadic

(2014) The future of trade unions in Croatia: Various stakeholders’ perspectives. Transfer 20(4): 521–536.

37.

Registrar of Trade Unions (2015) Report by the Registrar of Trade Unions 2014–2015. Government Gazette. Available at: www.gov.mt/en/Government/Government%20Gazette/Notices/Documents/Trade%20Unions%20reports%20Gaz%206.11.pdf (accessed 25 July 2016).

38.

Richardson

(2008) Working alone: The erosion of solidarity in today’s workplace. New Labor Forum 17(3): 69–78.

39.

Rizzo

(2002) Individualism: A threat or a challenge to trade unionism. Times of Malta, 1 May. Available at: www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20020501/news/individualism-a-threat-or-a-challenge-to-trade-unionism.176513 (accessed 11 December 2015).

40.

Shulruf

Yee

Blumenfeld

, et al. (2010) Perceptions, conceptions and misconceptions of organised employment. Journal of Industrial Relations 52(2): 236–241.

41.

The Hofstede Centre (n.d.) Available at: http://geert-hofstede.com/malta.html (accessed 11 December 2015).

42.

Times of Malta (2016) Italians lead surge in foreign workers in Malta. Times of Malta, 9 February. Available at: www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160209/local/italians-lead-surge-in-foreign-workers-in-malta.601769 (accessed 6 October 2016).

43.

Turner

D’Art

(2012) Public perceptions of trade unions in countries of the European Union: A causal analysis. Labor Studies Journal 37(1): 33–55.

44.

Visagie

Uys

Linde

Havenga

(2012) A comparative analysis of current trade union trends in the European Union and South Africa. African Journal of Business Management 6(44): 11095–11109.

45.

Waddington

(2014) Workplace representation, its impact on trade union members and its capacity to compete with management in the European workplace. Transfer 20(4): 537–558.

46.

Walters

(2002) Female part-time workers’ attitudes to trade unions in Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations 40(1): 49–48.

47.

Zammit

(2006) Capacity Building for Social Dialogue in Malta. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Available at: www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2006/other/capacity-building-for-social-dialogue-in-malta (accessed 25 July 2016).

48.

Zammit

Rizzo

(2003) The perceptions of trade unions by their members: A survey report on trade unions in Malta. In: Baldacchino

Rizzo

Zammit

(eds) Evolving Industrial Relations in Malta. Luqa, Malta: Agenda, pp. 129–155.