The Effect of Professional Outcome Expectations on Union Awareness and Union Attitudes: Research on Students of a Turkish Economics and Administrative Sciences Faculty

Turkey has one of the lowest unionization rates among the OECD countries. In January 2021, the unionization rate was recorded as 14.40%; an extremely low figure, given the nation’s approximately 14 million workers. Attitudes and awareness of individuals toward unions are influential factors that sti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ebru Kanyılmaz Polat, Siyret Ayas Şarman, Bahattin Hamarat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2021-07-01
Series:Sosyal Siyaset Konferansları Dergisi
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Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/FB31E16BC7A143F4B4BE144DE1FF4A52
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Summary:Turkey has one of the lowest unionization rates among the OECD countries. In January 2021, the unionization rate was recorded as 14.40%; an extremely low figure, given the nation’s approximately 14 million workers. Attitudes and awareness of individuals toward unions are influential factors that stimulate the tendency toward unionization. When individuals perceive unions as organizations that defend workers’ rights and raise the interests of workers, this can result in higher membership rates. In contrast, a qualified and educated workforce with increased individual bargaining power requires fewer trade unions. Within this framework, a quantitative study was conducted with senior students expected to soon graduate and enter the labor market. The effects of university students’ vocational outcome expectations, trade union awareness, and perceptions were examined with partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), to assess whether students’ awareness of trade unions exerts a regulatory impact. Data for this study were collected through surveys, employing an easy sampling method. The analysis of the students’ vocational outcome expectations did not reveal an effect on trade union attitudes. Conversely, when students’ awareness of trade unions increases, trade union attitudes simultaneously rise. Finally, the research indicated that union awareness exerts a regulatory impact.
ISSN:1304-0103
2548-0405