One of the defining stories of the British economy over the past few decades is the decline in trade union membership. The UK has experienced one of the sharpest falls in Europe, from a high of 49.9% in 1981 to a record low of the low 20s today. But while this captures the British picture, it’s not the whole story – look more closely at the constituent parts of the UK and you’ll see that in Wales, we’re doing things differently.
It’s well known that Wales has strong bonds with the trade union movement, with historically high union membership dating back to the times of heavy industry. Such bonds emerged from the heavily unionised mining industry that produced Welsh political heavyweights such as Aneurin Bevan. To this day, unions remain players in the political landscape to a far greater extent than in much of the rest of the UK, and are crucial to Welsh national and civic identity.
