Trade unions service level and member satisfaction

Abstract

Trade unions are juristic entities and volitional associations that have, historically and ideologically, represented the aggregate strength of labour to maximise their effectiveness in their endeavour to fulfil their core responsibilities and principal functions. However, Ceronie (2007) postulates that, in South Africa, there has been a loss of ideological support for unions since the dawn of democracy. The establishment of the democracy had the effect that a huge driving gear to belong to a union was lost. The mandate of trade unions is to, inter alia, protect, maintain, and improve the working conditions of their members. They fulfil this mandate by ensuring that they offer services that meet, if not exceed, members' satisfaction levels. Trade unions ultimately exist to protect both the work- and non-work-related interest of their members, whether these be economic, social, political, or environmental (Venter, 2003). Nel et al. (2005) asseverate that trade unions are membership organisations: They exist because of their members, they are made up of members, they serve their members' interest, and they are governed by their members. That is, they derive their authority and mandate from the members. Therefore, trade union are service providers. They must give employees enough reason to become attracted to them as members and to remain members. Simply put, trade unions, as the embodiment of workers' aspirations, owe a duty of care to their members, and thus should at all times, act in their best interests. Thus, the kind and quality of services offered by trade unions should be perceived by members as sufficient and satisfactory. Highly satisfied and committed union members are more likely to support and participate in trade union activities. Trade unions, like any other organisation that provides services, are faced with challenges of membership decline due to perceived poor services or the lack thereof, and are therefore required to devise remedial measures to mitigate the membership decline. Against the backdrop of the foregoing, the aim of the study was to examine if there is a relationship between the quality of services and benefits offered by unions to their members and member satisfaction. The sample comprised members of the three major unions within the public service of South Africa. Using the quantitative paradigm, primary empirical data were collected by distributing 500 questionnaires, which yielded a 48.9% response rate. Data were analysed using the SPSS Statistics 23 software program. The questionnaire was valid and reliable, with an overall scale reliability coefficient of α = .975. The findings revealed moderate levels of member satisfaction (56%) with low dissatisfaction (16%), and a significantly high participation rate in union activities (61%), and union effectiveness (80%). That is, the findings revealed that members were generally satisfied with their unions' performance. The findings affirm union instrumentality, union effectiveness, and member participation as antecedents of union commitment, and also confirm unions' performance and effectiveness as significant determinants of members' satisfaction with a union. Therefore, in a quest to maintain and/or increase their relevance, trade unions must examine their current services and benefits, in order to determine whether they still meet their members' preferences, and, if not, to develop and provide a new service mix that will not only appeal to unionised members, but will also attract non-unionised workers.