Abstract:
Since enactment of the Employment Contracts Act (ECA) in 1991, for the duration of which the New Zealand Government ceased compiling such data, the Centre for Labour, Employment and Work (formerly Industrial Relations Centre - IRC) at Victoria University of Wellington has collected data on union membership each year. Over that time, we have reported on the change in union membership and, in particular, the marked decline in the share of employees who belong to trade unions in New Zealand. We recently released our report for the following year to December 31, 2015 and it is available on our website. The following is a summary of the key findings but for the full report and tables go to the website.