Union members earn 26% more than non-members per week. Here’s why.

You may often read or hear that union members earn more than non-members.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that a union member will earn more than their coworker who is not a member, in the same job under the same employer. Nor does it mean that as soon as you join your union, your pay automatically goes up.

It means that generally union members tend to have higher wages than non-members. And highly-unionised workplaces or industries (ie. workplaces or industries where lots of the workers are union members) generally have higher rates of pay, than non-unionised workplaces or industries.

The evidence for this comes from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which shows that union members have median weekly earnings that are 26% higher than the earnings of non-members.

These statistics were current as of August 2022, and the updated release of numbers from the ABS will be in December 2024.

Why do union members earn more?

The data from the ABS clearly shows that union membership equals higher pay, no matter which way you cut it. This is due to a combination of union benefits for members.

Being in a union protects your pay

Union members protect – and advance – their pay in lots of ways; reclaiming wage theft and re-classification are just two examples:

Wage-theft

While unions fight for decent wages and working conditions for all workers, assistance on recovering stolen wages is an example of the kind of support that primarily benefits workers who join as members.

For example, a 2021 ACTU study into wage theft (such as unpaid overtime, withheld entitlements, or being paid under the legal minimum wage, including penalty rates) found that 80% of union members were able to recover the full amount owed to them.

This was higher than for those who sought help from the Fair Work Ombudsman (49%).

Reclassifications

A classification determines how much an employee is paid according to skill level or qualifications. Each classification has specific requirements and is allocated a specific wage.

Some employers under-classify – and therefore under-pay – workers (whether deliberately or not). Unions can help to assist members who have been under-classified to apply for reclassification and be paid more.

Union membership = collective bargaining power

Collective bargaining is where workers come together to negotiate better pay and conditions directly with their employer. Collective bargaining ensures workers get a fair share of the pie, and are usually negotiated with the involvement of a union, representing the members.

Collective bargaining is usually formalised in an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (sometimes called Enterprise Agreement or Collective Bargaining Agreement). These agreements must be registered and approved by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) before they come into effect, and they remain in place until they expire or are terminated.

Unions’ bargaining (or negotiating) power comes from the members. The more members in a union; the the stronger the union; the more powerful the union.

Non-members might still get some benefit from the work of union members’ negotiations, but data shows that this benefit would be larger if they too joined the cause.

Every member makes the workers’ collective voice stronger, louder and harder to ignore or reject. Every additional member makes the case for improved pay and conditions more compelling, authentic, and united.

Union-lodged agreements deliver higher wages

Since July 2022, The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has published statistical reports each fortnight, providing data on Enterprise Agreements which have been lodged and approved by the FWC in that time.

This data consistently shows that EBAs that have been lodged by a union consistently deliver higher wages than EBAs not lodged by a union.

The evidence is clear: whichever way you look at it, the key to higher wages is union membership. That’s why there has never been a better time to join your union.