Do soldiers have staff associations and trade unions?

Yes, but not in all European countries.
A well-structured social dialogue currently takes place in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

The right of association is a fundamental prerequisite for the establishment of social dialogue. Without professional associations or unions representation of professional and social interests of employees is impossible.

Soldiers are highly skilled employees who have the same legitimacy to promote their social and professional interests as other employees do.

The rapidly advancing technical development of armed forces and increasing sophistication of modern weapon systems set growing educational and training demands on the soldiers of today. European soldiers are also expected to serve in increasingly challenging crisis management operations.

This demands from all ranks (officers, non-commissioned officers and privates) language skills, cultural awareness as well as capacity for independent situational judgment and constructive interaction with civilian actors. Besides traditional fighting skills, soldiers are expected to function as mediators and even social and development aid workers with highest moral integrity and sensibility.

To put it short: military people are more educated and specialised than many of our fellow citizens are aware of. And educated, highly specialised experts tend to demand a say in their employment conditions.