The union-friendly Involvement and Participation Association pours cold water over the thinking behind the merger between Amicus and the Transport and General Workers Union in its latest members' bulletin.
It points out that the organising model likely to work the for marginalised manual workers targeted by the TGWU is hardly appropriate for those working in the knowledge economy who are the focus of attention for Amicus. Professional workers of this sort, it points out, need specialist, high-value services.
As the bulletin argues:
This raises a question over the merger logic. Amicus, a union with growth prospects in finance, is joining up with T&G whose areas of strength are focused on the "contracting out" economy of cleaning, security and support services. In business terms a parallel might be a merger between Barclays Bank and Rentokil Initial.
Much more sensible, the IPA suggests, would be a link-up between Amicus and Prospect and parts of the Communication Workers Union.
All a bit late now, as Amicus and the TGWU disappeared on 1 May to be replaced by Unite. But there is a warning for the future.
With Unite now pursuing international merger partners, the IPA points out that the current choice of Canadian and US steelworkers are an "unlikely choice" given that neither Amicus nor the TGWU has any roots in that industry. There is still time, it suggests, to find more suitable partners in chemicals, aerospace and finance.
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