Members
of the financial services union Unifi will receive ballot papers today to vote
on a merger with Amicus, the UK’s second largest union.
If
the members vote ‘yes’, they will join 50,000 insurance members in Amicus to
become the largest industrial sector within the union.
Under
the merger plan, Unifi will keep its identity and own staff and officers, and
will absorb the existing finance members in Amicus.
The
unions hope a merger will make them better able to target the 750,000 finance
workers who are not represented by trade unions.
Unifi
general secretary Ed Sweeney said: "It has always been our aim to create a
single union for the finance sector, and a merger with Amicus takes a mighty
step forward in that direction."
The
result of the vote will be known by the middle of May.
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In
addition, members of the GPMU print and media union are to be balloted over a
merger with Amicus. If this and the Unifi merger go ahead, Amicus will become
the biggest union in the UK with a membership of around 1.38 million.
