Underpaid union representatives: a situation of strategic discrimination? An econometric analysis based on the 2010 REPONSE survey.

Summary Cases of discrimination against trade unionists are accumulating. This is evidenced by the increasing number of legal proceedings and convictions in many large French companies. This qualitative observation has been reinforced by the statistical results obtained from the 2004 Professional Relations and Company Negotiations (REPONSE) survey, which show that, for equal levels of education and age, union representatives are paid about 10% less than their colleagues, as confirmed here by the 2010 version of the survey. Union membership alone does not explain these lower salaries. It is in fact the union representatives, who are the most active in defending the interests of their colleagues, who are the most penalized. In practice, it is difficult to establish that these employees have lower wages for reasons other than their union responsibilities. The wage penalties for union members without a mandate remain fairly low - around 4% - while conversely, it is in companies where there are disputes that union representatives are most penalised.