It was good to read Larry Elliott’s article on trade unions, in which he dispels well-worn myths (Unions don’t call the shots any more – but we’d all be better off if they did, 10 February). I would argue that strong trade unions are good for the economy and for reducing inequality.
The Nordic models, for example, are characterised by high union densities – around 70%-80% of workers are members of a union, collective bargaining between unions and employers is allowed in the majority of workplaces and industries, and the trade unions are key players in social dialogue – a system of consultation between unions, employers and the government around key economic and social policies.
Incidentally, this model is not too dissimilar to one proposed in the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour party manifesto in 2019. The Nordic models are the most equal of the developed capitalist countries, with the lowest rates of child poverty and highest rates of public provision in childcare and social services. Following the Covid crisis, Denmark and Norway had some of the lowest rates of public sector debt, and only Finland had a public sector deficit in 2019.
Since the crisis, the Danish trade unions have played a key role in ensuring an adequate system of social protection and safety net. Unemployment benefits amount to up to a maximum of around £2,000 per month in Denmark, compared with average UK benefits of around £450-£500 a month.
David Etherington
Professor of local and regional economic development, Staffordshire University
• Larry Elliott, lamenting the decline of unions, reminded us of the GMB’s suggestion that the governor of the Bank of England should spend a day as a care worker to appreciate what low pay means. That is little better than politicians donning hard hats to wander around a building site. What they really need to do is to spend a month or more doing such jobs, earning the pay that goes with it.
However, 20 or more years ago, Adam Holloway, a former army officer, made a documentary in which he spent three months unemployed, trying to negotiate his way through the benefit system. That experience didn’t stop him from becoming the Tory MP for Gravesham and a member of the European Research Group. Perhaps such people have become so wealthy that they don’t want to learn, to understand and to look for remedies for the inequalities in this country. Levelling up? You’re taking us for a ride!
Brian Thomas
Marden, Kent
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