The influence of the political attitudes of workers and the effect of the Great Recession on the decision to join a trade union in Southern Europe

Abstract

One of the distinctive characteristics of the trade union model in Southern Europe is the clear political persuasion of the dominant confederations (mainly left-wing) and, with the exception of Italy, their low membership density. The Great Recession ushered in a period of confrontation between unions and governments over the application of austerity policies and radical reforms deregulating the labour market, creating a hostile environment for unions, which responded by intensifying their discourse and socio-political action in order to call for the support of workers and alliances with other left-wing organisations. This article, based on data from the European Social Survey, analyses the importance of the political attitudes of workers as a determining factor of unionisation in Italy, Portugal and Spain over a significant period, from 2002 to 2018. The results obtained reveal an important influence of political attitudes on unionisation in Southern Europe, especially in Portugal. However, other variables also affected unionisation, notably the negative influence of precarious forms of employment and the conjunction of the recessionary economic cycle and neoliberal reforms that took place during the Great Recession.