Unions advised to look for recruits in new companies
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• Trade unions must start recruiting members in new companies or face extinction, says the co-ordinator of a TUCsponsored survey of trade unions by Cardiff Business School.
The survey reveals that less than half of the country's unions are bothering to target new companies, devoting resources instead to expand membership within companies where union membership exists.
The survey—which included interviews with general-secretaries and assistant general-secretaries as well as regional officers—is part of continuing research by the business school into the impact of the Organising Academy, set up by the TUC to boost recruitment.
According to Dr David Simpson, co-ordinator of trade union research at Cardiff Business School, the trade union movement could swell its numbers by more than 40% by targeting new companies and new industry sectors.
"It's far tougher to "cold-car workers in new companies than approaching employees in companies where members already exist," he says. "But unions must adopt a new strategy and perhaps consider a partnership approach with employers."
The survey also found unions were giving great priority to increasing membership among under-represented groups of workers, such as young employees and workers from the ethnic minorities.