Financialisation and the (de-)unionisation of workers in Portugal

Abstract

Over the last five decades, the degree of unionisation of workers has been decreasing and, therefore, by inadvertently accepting the deterioration of labour relations, the loss of labour rights, and the increase in the exploitation of labour all over the world, workers have not genuinely contested the neoliberal agenda and the deregulation and flexibilisation of the labour market. Our argument to explain this puzzling paradox of worsening labour conditions yet a lesser degree of unionisation finds that this is due to the financialisation of workers. On the one hand, workers with financial assets tend to reduce their unionisation due to their more financially solid position, pro-capital predisposition, perceived disconnection from union priorities, access to attractive remuneration benefits, a (psychological) sense of being owners (employers) and an alignment with capital’s (employers’) interests. On the other hand, workers with financial liabilities tend to reduce their unionisation due to their more financially fragile position, fears of job and income loss and concerns about default, reluctance to incur the immediate costs of monthly union dues, worries about the social stigma linked to potential default and a tendency to prioritise individual interests over collective action. This paper aims to study the relation between the financialisation of workers and their unionisation by performing a time series econometric analysis centred on Portugal over the period from 1980 to 2023. Our results confirm that the financialisation of workers exerts a negative effect on the degree of unionisation in Portugal. The financialisation of workers has indeed been one of the main factors behind the deunionisation in Portugal since the 1980s.