Union members earn more. Here’s why.

Union members earn $251 more per week than non-members!

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in December 2024, the median weekly earnings for workers who are union members is $1,600 per week, compared with $1,349 for workers who are not union members.

Permanent or casual? You’re better off as a union member in both

The data from the ABS shows that being a union member means higher pay for different types of employment, no matter where you are in your working life.

For permanent workers who are in full-time employment and a member of their union, their median hourly earnings is $49.00 – compared to $43.75 for full-time workers who are not union members. 

Permanent part-time workers who are union members get an even bigger advantage over non-members; with median hourly earnings of $43.33 per hour, compared to only $32.60 for part-time workers who are not union members. 

As for casual workers who are union members, their median hourly earnings is a whopping $11.29 higher than casuals who have not joined their union! That’s $42.86 for members compared to just $31.57 per hour for non-members. 

Age-wise, the largest difference in median hourly earnings is for those aged 25-34 years old, where union members earn $46.25 an hour compared to $38.44 for non-members. 

But young workers are also better off if they’ve joined their union, with workers aged 15-24 years who are members earnings $33.32 per hour compared to only $27.50 for young workers who are not members. 

It’s clear that union membership equals higher pay – and this is due to a combination of union benefits for members.

Union membership = collective bargaining power

Remember: when you read or hear that union members earn more than non-members, it doesn’t mean that a union member will earn more than their co-worker who is not a member, in the same job, with the same employer. Nor does it mean that as soon as you join your union, your pay automatically goes up.

It means that in general, union members have higher wages than non-members. And generally, ‘unionised’ workplaces or industries (where lots of the workers are union members) have higher rates of pay, than workplaces or industries with lower numbers of union members.

Union members protect – and advance – their pay in lots of ways. But union members’ biggest strength comes from their power to negotiate higher pay. 

Collective bargaining is where workers come together to negotiate better pay and conditions directly with their employer, usually with the involvement of a union who represents and advocates for the members.

Collective bargaining is usually formalised in an enterprise bargaining agreement (sometimes called an 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. 

Collective bargaining ensures workers get a fair deal. Non-members might still get some benefit from the union members’ negotiations, but this benefit would be larger if they too joined the cause. 

Unions make workers’ voices stronger, louder and harder to ignore or reject. And every additional member that joins makes the union more powerful.

Union-lodged agreements deliver higher wages

Between July 2022 and October 2024, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) published statistical reports each fortnight on enterprise agreements which were lodged and approved by the FWC in that time.

The data shows that agreements that have been lodged by a union consistently deliver higher wages than agreements 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!