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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dear IER supporter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Statistics released yesterday show trade unions are continuing to struggle to attract young members.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>In response, the IER's publication <a href="http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/federation-news-spring-2012-meeting-challenges-age">Federation News: Meeting the Challenges of Age</a> has been reduced to a special offer price of just £5 to trade union members and £10 to non-trade union members.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The following article provides a more in-depth view of the issues at hand:<o:p></o:p></span></p><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:3.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0cm;background:white'><span style='font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#0C3A6E'>Trade unions need young members, and young workers need trade unions</span><span style='font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></h1><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>30 May 2013</span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'><o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style='mso-margin-top-alt:3.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white'><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#0C3A6E'>By Sarah Glenister, IER staff</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#0C3A6E'><o:p></o:p></span></h3><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
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</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Now on special offer!" href="http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/federation-news-spring-2012-meeting-challenges-age" style='position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:18.05pt;width:247.5pt;height:342pt;z-index:-1;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:left;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:text' wrapcoords="-131 0 -131 21505 21600 21505 21600 0 -131 0" o:button="t">
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</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><a href="http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/federation-news-spring-2012-meeting-challenges-age"><img border=0 width=330 height=456 src="cid:image001.jpg@01CE5D3F.49A36190" align=left hspace=12 alt="Now on special offer!" title="" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2"></a><![endif]><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>The latest<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203471/bis-13-p77-trade-union-membership-2012.pdf"><span style='color:#66667F'>trade union membership statistics</span></a>, released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills yesterday (29 May 2013), shows the age of the average trade union member is increasing at the same time as young workers need representation more than ever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>According to the figures, around 36% of trade union members in 2012 were over the age of 50, with membership having fallen in all age groups over the last 17 years, except among those aged over 65.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>It is no surprise to see a decline in membership during the recession, as trade unions have been hit by the economic slowdown in line with the majority of organisations - private and third sector. Furthermore, the statistics are not all bleak. There was an overall increase in trade union membership in 2012 of 59,000, bringing total membership figures to 6.5 million. This boost was fuelled by a rise in membership in the private sector for the second year running, with 63,000 employees becoming new members and the proportion of private sector staff who are represented by trade unions improving by 0.2 percentage points to 14.4%. Meanwhile, membership among public sector workers remained broadly stable.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>At a time when the Coalition government is systematically destructing workers' legal protections in favour of private profit, trade union membership is vital. Workplace representatives steer employees through ever-changing and increasingly unjust employment law, and ensure their wages remain as high as possible. Indeed, the figures showed that the average trade union member is paid around 17% more than the average non-trade union member - a significant premium at a time when<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/may-2013/sty-awe.html"><span style='color:#66667F'>weekly earnings growth has hit a record low</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>Membership is particularly important for young workers, who have been among the hardest-hit by both the recession and Coalition policies. The<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_307508.pdf"><span style='color:#66667F'>Office for National Statistics reported last week</span></a><span class=apple-converted-space> </span>(15 May 2013) that the unemployment rate for economically-active 16 to 24-year-olds not in full-time education hit 19.1 per cent in January to March 2013, surging by 0.7 percentage points in the previous quarter. Overall, 668,000 people in this group were unemployed, up by 18,000 since October to December 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>Young people just entering work are also vulnerable to being exploited by employers taking advantage of much-criticised apprenticeship schemes paying just £2.65 an hour and accused of providing little or no valuable training to employees. Before they have been with the same employer for at least two years, they can also not claim for unfair dismissal. If they should decide to go to university rather than straight into the workplace, they are also faced with newly towering tuition fees.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>Marie Taylor, Vice-President of the Community and Youth Workers section of Unite (CWYU) provided a ten-step plan for unions on how to explain the benefits of membership to young people in a recent copy of<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/federation-news-spring-2012-meeting-challenges-age"><span style='color:#66667F'>Federation News</span></a>, by the Institute of Employment Rights and the General Federation of Trade Unions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>"Recently, young people … have been at the forefront of direct action challenging government policy," she wrote, explaining that a major result of the impact of the cuts on these individuals is "that it has politicised them in a way that only personal experience ever can."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='line-height:14.4pt;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#413839'>That issue of<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><a href="http://www.ier.org.uk/publications/federation-news-spring-2012-meeting-challenges-age"><span style='color:#66667F'>Federation News - Meeting the Challenges of Age</span></a>, which focuses on the challenges to trade unions in protecting young and elderly workers, is now on special offer at just £5 per copy. It includes ten essays by academics, trade unionists and youth workers on how to tackle the problems facing the young and ageing in UK workplaces.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Sarah Glenister<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><i>IT Development and Communications Assistant<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class=MsoNormal>Institute of Employment Rights<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>4th Floor, Jack Jones House, 1 Islington, Liverpool, L3 8EG<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>0151 207 5265<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>