Hardly any of the 25,000 people who have snapped up new full-time jobs in the past three years joined a trade union, official figures suggest.

Sociology professor Godfrey Baldacchino, writing in the Times of Malta says the largest increases in employment came in sectors such as gaming and financial services, which are traditionally suspicious of trade unions.

Prof. Baldacchino says unions “seem caught on the wrong foot” with millennials, who are not so interested in the “classic, left-wing mantras of worker solidarity and class struggle”. The problem is further compounded by the large number of foreign workers, many of whom are not particularly disposed to entertaining union affiliation, he adds.

At face value, the annual report drafted by the Registrar of Trade Unions for the period to June 2016 paints a positive picture: overall union membership increased by 2,400 compared to June 2015.

However, taking a deeper look at the numbers, Prof. Baldacchino says the increase is almost exclusively the result of police officers being able to join a union, something they could not do until two years ago. Two police unions have 2,000 members between them.

He urges unions to appeal to the younger people by campaigning on issues they value, including work-life balance, gym vouchers and attractive workspaces.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com