Dutch trade unions keep losing members

Trade union membership in the Netherlands has decreased by 63,000 between 2021 and 2023, marking a 4 percent decline to a total of over 1.4 million members. This continues a trend of declining union membership that began in 2012, with the most significant drop occurring among individuals aged 45 to the state pension age, according to new data from Statistics Netherlands published on Tuesday.

The number of union members has not been this low since 1963. Over half of trade union members are between the ages of 45 and the state pension age, a demographic that also experienced the steepest drop in membership. Membership numbers for both men and women have decreased across all age groups.

Of those employees who were not members of a union in 2022, 54 percent said the main reason was that they had never seriously thought about it. 12 percent believed unions no longer impact their work conditions, 8 percent found the membership fees too high, and 6 percent felt that unions did not adequately represent their interests.

Particularly younger, non-member workers stated that they had never seriously considered joining a union. 62 percent of those aged 15 to 24 and 66 percent of those aged 25 to 35 cited this as their reason for not becoming members.