The Merger

I voted for the merger between Amicus and the TGWU so I'm pleased by the ballot result today.

I did so mainly for industrial reasons:

- in a globalised economy with huge powerful corporations you need unions with similar muscle to stand up to them
- it has been absurd that in some industries like aerospace and automotive both these unions have been organised in the same workplaces - they've already been campaigning together but it has taken effort to co-ordinate it must make sense to have a single union in each industry and workplace

The impact on the Labour Party of having such a large single affiliate - holding 12% of the electoral college and 18% of the vote at Conference - is more ambiguous but is a secondary consideration - the key question is what structure will deliver most for members on pay and conditions, keeping their jobs and other industrial issues.