Scots unions change tactics to halt decline in membership

Scotland’s
trade unions are set to launch a three-year drive to boost membership.

The
campaign will be launched at the Scottish TUC annual congress in Glasgow on
Monday.

STUC
statistics suggest that for every five workers who leave unions through retirement,
only one worker under 20 is being recruited.

In
response, the STUC intends to change its approach to promoting membership.

Campaign
plans include school visits by trade unionists and promoting the role of unions
as part of the Scottish Executive’s enterprise education for schools programme.

Between
1980 and 2000, membership of unions affiliated to the STUC dropped from nearly
1.1 million to less than 630,000, although the last two years have shown a
"modest" increase, officials said.

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The
new campaign will set out to boost membership, increase inter-union
co-operation, and promote a ‘positive’ image of the work of unions through the
media.

By Mike Berry