The effects of multi-unionism: a survey of large manufacturing establishments

Multi-unionism is a distinctive feature of British industrial relations, which is often criticized for reducing the effectiveness of trade unions and also for reducing the efficiency of British business. It is commonly argued that multi-unionism increases strikes, leads to inefficient working practices and complicates the conduct of collective bargaining, although evidence to support this is sparse. This article investigates the process by which multi-unionism reduces business efficiency by a random sample survey of large manufacturing establishments in the North-West of England. Semi-structured interviews with the manager responsible for dealing with trade unions were held in those establishments that were multi-union. It was found that the typical pattern of multi-unionism is for each union to represent distinct groups of workers, rather than competing to represent the same group of workers, and this restricted union competition for members. Even in the minority of establishments that did experience union competition for members, the nature of this competition meant that multi-unionism did not reduce competitiveness. Nor did multi-unionism prevent most employers from introducing efficient working practices. The main implications of multi-unionism are for the conduct of collective bargaining, but any view that this necessarily reduces a firm's efficiency is far too simplistic.