Trade Unions and Workers’ Health

Introduction

The core purpose of UHealth is to assess the relationship between trade unions and workers’ health, taking a broad definition of what trade unions are and looking at several health indicators including physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Project Overview

This innovative project will assess the specific dimensions that underlie such a relationship within three work packages (WP).

WP1: Longitudinal Analysis

WP1 will employ several longitudinal British Birth Cohorts to examine the extent to which:

• Trade union membership
• Trade union presence within the company
• Changes in the collective bargaining structure over the life course

These factors are associated with changes in health outcomes.

WP2: International Comparison

WP2 will compare five countries (Germany, Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan) using specific panel homogenised datasets. This comparison aims to better capture how the presence of a trade union within the workplace could impact health and wellbeing both directly and indirectly through:

1. Job satisfaction
2. Gender pay gap
3. Precarious employment
4. Flexible work arrangements

Specific attention will be given to national collective negotiation structures.

Methodology for WP2

For both packages, sensitivity analyses will test model assumptions. Longitudinal analyses, negative outcomes, and propensity score matching will be used to assess causation and intervention selection.

WP3: Qualitative Comparative Approach

Finally, using a qualitative comparative approach of the freight transport and cleaning sectors in the United Kingdom and Belgium, WP3 will focus on:

• The involvement of trade union organisations in health and safety committees
• How workers’ health is an object of collective negotiation across different types of national and international structures that vary across countries and sectors.

Expected Outcomes

UHealth will result in a set change in research on the work and employment determinants of health, providing evidence for research and policy communities to reduce health inequalities.