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The new super union has come a step closer with the formal ratification of merger documents by Amicus's ruling executive.
The Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) is now consulting with its branches, and its executive committee will hold a meeting on 22 November to make a final recommendation.
A T&G delegate conference will then be held on 19 December to vote on the plans. Both unions will then ballot their members in the New Year, with a result expected in February.
Reports last week suggested that the new union will not be led by either of the present general secretaries. It had been expected that the merged union would be led by Amicus general secretary Derek Simpson or the T&G's Tony Woodley.
But it is now thought they will continue as joint general secretaries while the merger beds down, with a leadership election to be held by 2010.
The new union, still to be formally named, will have a combined membership of about 1.9 million people, making it the biggest organised labour group in the UK.
