Only a third of Maltese workers are unionised, a new study has found.

The first national union membership study, conducted by the National Forum of Trade Unions, was published yesterday. It found that while 34 per cent of workers were unionised, 18 per cent were members in the past and 48 per cent had never joined a trade union

Some 1,500 people aged 15 to 64 and residing in private dwellings in Malta were interviewed for the research conducted by sociologist Godfrey Baldacchino and the director of the Centre for Labour Studies, Manuel Debono.

About 70 per cent of all workers, unionised or otherwise, felt unions played an important role.

Those employed in the education and health sectors were most likely to be unionised. Older and more educated workers were also far more likely to be union members. In fact, the workers in the youngest age category, 15-24, were the least likely to form part of a union, raising concerns that the new generation of employees were not joining unions. The general secretary of the General Workers’ Union, Josef Bugeja said the findings did not spell the end of trade unions.

“What we are seeing here is a series of opportunities to attract more people and diversify our operations,” he said.

The reasons for not seeking union representation were varied, however, nearly two- thirds said they felt they could take better care of themselves and did not need representation at all.

Around 10 per cent of those who had not joined a union felt no union represented their specific professional concerns. About seven per cent said their employer discouraged membership.

Some, however, simply did not have confidence in unions. A fifth of all workers thought unions were too politicised because of their ties to the two major parties and half believed unions could not help with their problems.

Women were more likely to be unsure whether unions could protect their rights than men. Women doing white collar jobs were more likely to be unionised while the majority of men who joined unions were blue collar workers. Workers were more likely to be unionised if they had an indefinite public sector job.