Thirteen years later : trade unions in the Maltese private sector revisited

Abstract

This paper explores the latent power of Maltese trade unions in the private sector by reviewing the presence of collective agreements in force in 2008. The study adopts a similar methodology to one published in Bank of Valletta Review in 1996, based on 1995 data. Over this 13-year period, the number of private sector collective agreements in force has dropped from 212 to 168; the number of full-time, private sector employees covered by collective agreements is slightly higher (22,879 as against 22,128); but the proportion of the same employees covered by collective agreements is lower by 6.2 percentage points (from 32.9% to 26.7%). The data invites a sober reflection on the power of trade unions in contemporary society.