Rising union membership in private sector is good for workers wanting a decent pay rise

Commenting on the latest annual trade union membership statistics, published today (Wednesday) by the Department for Business, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It’s good to see union membership hold steady as private sector growth makes up for the big job cuts in local government, the civil service and the NHS.

“Unions deliver better pay, longer holidays, more training, safer workplaces, family-friendly jobs and decent pensions. That is because workers are stronger when they join together.

“And it is why we need stronger unions to secure the pay rises that workers across Britain need to share in the recovery.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The latest trade union membership figures are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-statistics-2013

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @tucnews

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Rob Holdsworth    T: 020 7467 1372    M: 07717 531150     E: rholdsworth@tuc.org.uk