BRITISH TRADE UNIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19799, 21 November 1927, Page 8

BRITISH TRADE UNIONS.

The annual return issued by the British Ministry of Labour shows that trade union membership during 1926 suffered a decline. This is nothing new, for, since 1920, when trade union membership reached its highest point, there has been a decided falling away. It has not been wholly consistent, for 1924 showed an increase of 2 per cent, compared with 1923. The decrease of last year, compared with 1925, amounts to approximately 5 per cent. The year 1925 itself showed a negligible loss of roughly 0.2 per cent, compared with 1924, but w|ien these figures are assembled they prove the fall in membership to have been progressive, the one slight gain being more than balanced by accumulated losses. The actual figures speak for themselves. In 1920 the gross membership, to the nearest thousand, was 8,337,000; in 1925, 5,522,000 ; the decrease given in the cable message shows the 1926 total to have been 5,233,000. In the return made last year, for 1925, mining, metal working, and agriculture provided the greatest decreases. The figures just issued, for 1926, show that mining and transport are principally responsible for the losses. The causes underlying these movements are largely unemployment, with consequent inability to find union dues. Something must be allowed for discontent with general union policy. Especially must this be so for last year, when the general strike and the coal strike powerfully influenced Labour's industrial organisations.