Trade unions in the Maltese private sector

Abstract

This paper builds a statistical profile of trade union density in the Maltese private sector. Its intention is to document the differing levels of union representation in the different sub-sectors ofthe Maltese economy. Only 200 firms, employing a third of full-time employees in the private sector were covered by a collective agreement in Spring 1995. Were it not for one partially privatised bank, two dozen hotels, some church and private schools and storage facilities, trade union presence in the local tertiary sector would have remained insignificant. In certain sub-sectors - real estate, personal sources, insurance - no collective agreement is currently in force. Some of the implications of these observations for labour and trade union policy are assessed.