Trade unions are facing difficult circumstances but it is important not to overstate the extent of the challenges

In recent decades trade unions have undergone an apparent decline within OECD countries. Yet Elizabeth Cotton explains how the same period has also seen the rise of global union federations, which are the largest membership organisations in the world. Such GUFs are working to target the growth of temporary labour which is partly to blame for the precipitous decline in union membership in many national contexts.