Denmark: LO can’t stop its ‘member hemorrhage’

Last year, LO lost 34,000 members, bringing the number of dues-paying members down to 954,653 in 2009. the member hemorrhage affecting the union since 1996 (when it accounted for 1,331,917 members) doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop any time soon, in spite of initiatives to stamp it out (see our dispatch No. 080417). The worst-off federation is 3F (less than 16,000 members among low-skilled workers), the drop affects all LO unions, from HK (Handels- og Kontorfunktionærernes Forbund – the national union of commercial and clerical employees) to Dansk Metal (metalworkers’ union) to TIB (Træ-Industri-Byg – construction). On the contrary, Denmark’s other two key unions, FTF (Funktionærernes og Tjenestemændenes Fællesrad - confederation of salaried employees and civil servants) and AC (Akademikernes Centralorganisation – Danish confederation of professional associations), have added members.
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– og Kontorfunktionærernes Forbund – the national union of commercial and clerical employees) to Dansk Metal (metalworkers’ union) to TIB (Træ-Industri-Byg – construction). On the contrary, Denmark’s other two key unions, FTF (Funktionærernes og Tjenestemændenes Fællesrad – confederation of salaried employees and civil servants) and AC (Akademikernes Centralorganisation – Danish confederation of professional associations), have added members.

Reasons for disaffection. Professor Henning Jørgensen

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