In broad terms, these findings would tend to confirm previous suggestions that the level of activity is relatively unaffected by whether it takes place within the public or private sector. Furthermore, the relationship between union density and this broader measure of activity was not statistically significant. In workplaces where union density was 40% or over 37.5% of active ULRs reported ‘high’ activity compared to 34.4% in workplaces where less than 40% of workers were union members. However, high activity was found more often within larger organisations – well over a third of active ULRs within large organisations reported ‘high’ activity compared with less than one-fifth of those in SMOs.
accessing training (table 10), the pattern is generally similar to that of activity. There was again little difference between public and private sectors, while a slightly greater proportion of ULRs in sites with density of 40% and above claimed to have increased the numbers accessing training. However, neither of these relationships was statistically significant. In contrast, organisation size was significant at the 1% level. Almost half of active ULRs in large organisations (47.4%) felt that their activity had increased the numbers accessing training compared with under a third (31.9%) in SMOs. Table 11 looks at a broader measure of impact and explores the relationship between contextual factors and the views of ULRs as to whether their activity improved union-management relations. However, there was little clear pattern and none of these factors were statistically significant.
An important question is whether contextual factors also determine whether ULR activity is converted into clear outcomes. In terms of whether ULR activity has led to an increase in the numbers of workers Table 10 – Context and numbers accessing training
Do you feel that your ULR activity has increased the numbers of colleagues accessing training? Yes
To a certain extent
No
Unsure
Total
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
Public sector
295
46.6
210
33.2
79
12.5
49
7.7
633
100.0
Private sector
88
42.7
73
35.4
31
15.0
14
6.8
206
99.9
Small and mediumsized organisations ***
38
31.9
43
36.1
23
19.3
15
12.6
119
99.9
Large organisations ***
372
47.4
254
32.4
100
12.8
58
7.4
784
100.0
Union density <40%
41
41.4
31
31.3
15
15.2
12
12.1
98
100.0
Union density >40%
341
47.1
237
32.7
92
12.7
54
7.5
722
100.0
Union Learning Representatives – Activity, Impact and Organisation
19