Difficulties, pressures and new opportunities in contemporary labour relations : an analysis into Maltese trade unionism

Abstract

In the geographical context of Malta, an arid island with practically no or few natural resources, human resources have been a primary make or break concern for decades. This lifted labour relations to one of the top priorities in the public policy arena, with the State intervening in many occasions in order to maintain the necessary socio economic stability in the island. With the advent of globalisation and structural transformation, and with all the challenges they brought about, labour relations became more volatile in nature, thus more complex to predict and manage. Trade unions, since their conception, have been struggling to sow the seeds of solidarity amongst workers, in order to unite, and face labour market challenges together. However, the structural transformation which gave rise to neo-liberalism, and to a certain extent vanquished socialism, did not only instigate various challenges on the labour market. It also attacked trade unionism at its roots as forms of social . solidarity were being dismantled in favour of individualism, private property and personal responsibility. The result was a relatively weakened trade union movement, with union membership on the decline around the globe. Though this decline was not as drastic as in other countries, Maltese trade unions still witnessed a shattering of "the shield" by which they protected workers. These challenges are exerting pressure on trade unions to rethink their strategies to address these threats, and also to stimulate them to rise to the opportunity of a new workforce - a workforce which needs to be organised effectively and one which increasingly yearns for a 'good workplace' agenda. In view of such debate, this research study looks into different theories which established various determinants of trade union growth and attempts to analyse these determinants in the local labour relations scenario. The study focuses on two major areas, socio-political factors and macro-economic factors, and concludes with a set of plausible initiatives which unions can adopt in order to secure their role in the national and international labour relations arena.