News

Trade union Unite says a merger with the United Steelworkers' union (USW) in the US will create a "transatlantic super union" to deal with the globalisation of the packaging industry.

The USW, despite its name, is one of the leading unions in the packaging and paper sector with more than 130,000 members.

Unite has 30,000 packaging industry members in the UK.

Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke said the two organisations had been discussing a possible merger for the past 12 months. Further talks were held in London last week and the move was endorsed by the Unite executive.

USW will decide on whether to proceed at its annual conference in July.

"Once agreed we will then begin the whole merger process," said Burke.

"USW would be a good fit for us. Its members are in similar companies, such as SCA, Kimberly-Clark and MeadWestvaco."

The merger would be a first step in co-ordinating collective bargaining and, according to Unite, would give the unions more bargaining power when dealing with multinational companies.

It is thought the deal will eventually pave the way for the formation of a new umbrella organisation, with a single management structure and leader.