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Membership survey among teachers

News | 20 April 2018

Bård Jordfald og Kristine Nergaard har kartlagt medlemmenes arbeidssituasjon, deres bruk av tillitsvalgte og deltakelse i forbundets aktiviteter. Medlemmene har også blitt spurt om hva som er viktig for at de har valgt Utdanningsforbundet. Denne medlemsundersøkelsen er den femte i rekka.

This is the fifth membership survey that Fafo has undertaken for the Union of
Education Norway. At three-or four-year intervals, the members of the union have been asked about their job situation and the challenges it involves, whether they have accessto a union representative or not and their interaction with this representative.

As in previous surveys, the members who participated in Medlem2017 were drawn from the union’s membership register. Union of Education Norway is organised by workplace, and the different membership groups vary in size.

The membership of Union of Education Norway is dominated by employees in educational professions in early childhood education (ECE) and schools (primary/lower secondary and upper secondary). In addition, the union organises leaders of ECE and schools.

The members’ job situation

With nearly 120 000 gainfully employed members spread out over a large number of work-places  of  many different  types  and  a  variety  of  professions,  this  diversity  of  conditions makes  for  varying  levels  of  job  satisfaction.  As  in  previous  surveys,  however,  nearly  all respondents were satisfied with their colleagues. In general and irrespective of profession
or workplace, the majority tended to be satisfied with their situation.

When compared to other groups of members, ECE teachers
are generally more satisfied than others. Lower levels of satisfaction were reported with regard to their physical working environment and facilities for performing office duties in the workplace. Many were also dissatisfied with the opportunities for making good use of their preparation time, and
a considerable proportion of the members are dissatisfied with their working hours.
Primary/lower secondary school teachers constitute the largest group of members in the Union of Education Norway, and they are the most dissatisfied with their physical working environment and the opportunities to protect their own leisure time. Together with their colleagues in upper secondary schools, the primary/lower secondary school teachers are among those who are dissatisfied with the opportunities for supplementary and continuing education.

A large proportion are dissatisfied with the opportunities to prioritise the
core tasks of the profession, but compared to previous surveys, this element of discontent is  clearly  diminishing. This  might be  interpreted  as indicating that  the measures introduced to remove ‘time thieves’ have had an effect.

While the ECE teachers are generally satisfied, the upper secondary school teachers are more critical. Many tend to be dissatisfied with the administrative and educational management, the opportunities for supplementary and continuing education, working hours and the ability to protect their own leisure time. Many are dissatisfied with the opportunities  to  prioritise  the  core  tasks  of  the  profession,  but  similar to  the  primary  school
teachers, this proportion has declined since the preceding surveys.

The  members  who  are  employed  in professional-administrative  support  systems (FAS) tend to be satisfied, but FAS members are dissatisfied with the staffing situation in their workplaces.

Members in the university and university college sector are dissatisfied with
HR  management  and  their  ability  to  protect  their  own  leisure  time,  and  in  contrast  to other groups of members there is a certain proportion who are dissatisfied with the interaction between colleagues in the workplace.
Members  in  managerial  positions are satisfied  with  the  interaction  in  their  workplace (between  the  colleagues  in  the  workplace,  between  the  management  and  staff,  and  between the management and the union representatives). On the other hand, they tend to be more critical towards the management at the level of the owners. This dissatisfaction
is most prominent among school leaders, and applies to educational as well as administrative management by the school owners. 

Like the members in educational positions in the school, the leaders were dissatisfied with their ability to protect their own leisure time. Such dissatisfaction was reported by a larger proportion of the leaders than the teachers.

Members and union representatives

The vast majority of the members of the Union of Education Norway have access to a union representative in their workplace. In  the  FAS  and  higher  education  sector,  there were  relatively  many  who  were  unaware  of  whether  the  nearest  union  representative could be found in their workplace, local union or another part of the union organisation.

The results from Medlem2017 are similar to those of previous surveys. The members of Union of Education Norway remain eager to seek advice and assistance from their union representative; in fact they do so slightly more frequently than before. Members in primary/lower secondary schools in particular make use of this opportunity. Advice and assistance are requested primarily for issues related to wages and working conditions in a
broad sense. Questions tend to be raised concerning working hours, other rights associated with the employment relationship, and the working environment in the workplace.
Furthermore, advice and assistance are requested for local bargaining rounds and other issues related to wages. Women request advice and assistance more frequently than men,and they also tend to focus on other rights in the employment relationship to a greater extent than men. When men seek advice and assistance, they tend to focus on wages and working hours.

Previous  membership  surveys  have  shown  that  on  the  whole,  the  members are well satisfied with the advice or assistance provided by their union representatives. This applies also to 2017.

Participation in the local organisation Union of Education Norway maintains a high level of activity in many workplaces. Meetings are held at regular intervals, and there is no decrease in this activity. The challenges remain
the same as before: in some small workplaces no meetings are held. Only one in every four members in ECE is employed in a workplace where regular meetings are held.

As in previous surveys, members in non-managerial positions in primary/lower secondary schools have the highest rate of attendance of union meetings. Members in ECE also attend meetings, even though they are summoned somewhat more rarely. At the other end of the scale we find the members of FAS and the higher education sector, whose attendance is more variable.
Being able to hold  meetings during working hours  has an  effect, and  the attendance rate  is  highest  in  workplaces  where  this  is  possible.  However,  many  members  report  to attend  the  meetings even when  they  are scheduled  outside working hours. Many work-places have a culture for attending when the local union representative sends out a meeting notice. The members are largely satisfied, and four out of five attendees report that
the meetings function quite well or very well.

As  regards  participation  outside  the  workplace,  a  little  more  than  20  per  cent  of  the members who do not hold elected office themselves have attended meetings of the local union organisation during the last year, and 12 per cent have attended training courses and  conferences  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  union. 
The members also  report  to  continuously  engage  in  discussions  with  their  union  representative.  Primary/lower  secondary  schools  and  the  university/university  college  sector  are  found  at opposite ends of the scale, with informal discussions being most common in the schools.

Our main impression is that Union of Education Norway maintains a fairly stable rate of participation over time. This can partly be explained by reference to structural issues, since small workplaces often have no active local
organisation. However, the figures also indicate that traditions for participation and commitment have an effect, whereby the primary/lower secondary schools form a bedrock of broad attendance.

Why are they members?

The members who responded in 2017 reported the same issues as being essential to them as those who have responded in previous membership surveys. Most of the respondents highlight aspects of security in having the opportunity  to receive advice and assistance when problems arise in the workplace and in having the union safeguard their wage interests.  There  were  and  remain  the  principle  issues  for  their  choice  to  join  the  union.
Women tend to emphasise the security aspect, while men tend to focus on wage interests.

There is also an increase in the proportion that reports ‘I feel an obligation to be unionised’, which most likely should be seen in light of the major labour conflict in 2014.

The greatest dissatisfaction with the wage level is found at the bottom of the wage distribution  and at the very top of the education system.

When asked about their general satisfaction with their membership in Union of Education Norway, nine out of ten respondents report to be satisfied. There are some variations among the groups, as members in educational positions are  more  frequently  satisfied  that  their colleagues in managerial positions.

Members who hold elected office

To maintain a presence in such a large number of workplaces, Union of Education Norway needs members who are willing to accept elected office and the duties that accompany it. The union has many elected representatives who take a positive view of their office, and the proportion of members who do not yet hold office but would be willing to do so has increased  over  time.  In  the  youngest  age  groups  in  particular,  there  are  many  who  are willing to stand for election.
Since the size of the workplaces varies considerably, the scope of obligations following from elected office will also vary.
As  in  previous  membership  surveys,  the  majority  of  the  elected  representatives  are comfortable in their role, in fact to an increasing extent. Many of them state a desire to exert an influence or to make a positive contribution in their workplace as the reason for accepting the office. In addition, some point out that holding elected office provides useful experience, including through access to the union’s training programmes.

The vast majority report to be treated with respect by their employer and most report that they are included in matters pertaining to the members’ job situation. Fewer of the union representatives are included in discussions of educational issues, and one in every five reports that no provisions are made for
union activities at their workplace.

Many union representatives face challenges in persuading members to attend meetings or to take a role in the union’s activities. Union of Education Norway is no different, and these challenges are greatest in workplaces where meetings must be held outside of regular working hours.

Devoting sufficient time and effort to recruitment of members is another frequently noted challenge.

Members in managerial positions  

Members who are employed in managerial positions continue to be of the opinion that it is essential to have a single union for all educators irrespective of their position, and that there is no conflict between  the roles of manager and  trade union  member. Nor do  the vast majority of these members perceive any negative attitudes to their membership on the part of employers or local trade union leaders. On the other hand, many of them point out the challenge involved in being organised in the same union as the people whom they are leading.
 
A little more than half of these unionised managers have attended meetings with their peers  and  a  separate  union  representative.  The  central  union organisation  has  thereby established  arenas  for  this  group  of  members. 

Publisert: 20 April 2018