Employee Intention to Join a Union in Private University

Trade unions are bodies that are not bound by any other organization and being free from the influence of employers makes them very powerful. Trade unions are also relationships between employers and their employees. Since the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis to now, there has been a decline in union membership of more than half a million. However, in this research, we found that unfair labour practices take the form of organization politics. Our main motive in this study was to identify the relationship between human resources practices and employee intention to join unions in the Malaysian education sector. We chose a particular university in Malaysia whose name is kept private and confidential. The study sample size was 120, which is sufficient for partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis. The study results reveal that the work environment, rewards, and compensation significantly influence employee intention to join a union. However, even if the employees intend to join the union, organizational politics moderate their decision to do so, and may prevent them from joining the union. The limitations of this study and suggested future research are also discussed.