GREAT BRITAIN: Two of Great Britain's biggest trade unions, the Amalgamated Engineering & Electrical Union (AEEU) and the Manufacturing, Science and Finance (MSF) union, may be merging, and thus form the country's largest trade union. The announcement was made at a recently-held joint manufacturing conference of both the MSF and AEEU. Both unions are affiliated to the International Metalworkers' Federation through the IMF British Section.
The general secretary of the MSF, Roger Lyons, declared that one giant manufacturing union, with one million members, "would give British industry one clear employee voice to promote and defend it". Lyons made his remarks at the conference before the British Trade and Industry Secretary and leading industrialists, explaining how such a union would help growth in manufacturing by establishing efficient partnerships.