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Story: Unions and employee organisations

Percentage of union members

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Percentage of union members

Union membership in New Zealand has never reached 50% of the paid workforce, although it came close to that figure in the late 1980s. The rate of membership dropped sharply to under 20% when the Employment Contracts Act was passed in 1991.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Statistics New Zealand; Department of Labour

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How to cite this page

Erik Olssen, Unions and employee organisations – Reviving the unions, 1890–1913, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/graph/22264/percentage-of-union-members (accessed 20 June 2026).

Story by Erik Olssen, published 4 February 2010.