Three names have been put forward for the new ‘super-union‘ to be formed by a merger by Amicus and the Transport and General Workers’ (T&G) union.
Nearly two million union members will be asked to vote for one of three names: OneUnion, Union@work or AmicusT&G.
According to newspaper reports, Amicus employed a consultancy – at a cost of ÂŁ10,000 – to advise on a new name, but then rejected all the suggestions it offered.
The T&G said that the move to let the members decide was both “more democratic and a lot cheaper than a consultancy”.
The T&G has to win final approval of delegates at a conference on 19 December, before it can put the merger plans to a vote of its 800,000 members.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Amicus also plans to ballot its 1.1 million members next month.
If approved, the new union will come into existence in May. It plans large industrial groupings within its structure and expects to spend ÂŁ15m a year recruiting new union members.