Members of the British construction workers union UCATT on Wednesday voted by 85,5 per cent to merge with Britain’s largest union, Unite. Over the coming weeks Unite and UCATT will be finalising details ahead of UCATT’s formal transfer to Unite on 1 January 2017.
“By joining with Unite, the industrial muscle of all construction workers will double overnight, which is good news for all members,” said UCATT’s acting general secretary Brian Rye.
UCATT is today UK's only trade union specialising in construction and after the merger with Unite the union will represent close to 2 million members.
“This is a historic moment for the construction industry and the men and women who work in it. From January 2017, construction workers will for the first time have one united powerful union on their side at work,” said Unite’s general secretary Len McCluskey.
Both Unite and UCATT are members of the BWI. ”We congratulate the members of these two unions who will now have an even stronger voice at work and in society. Both Unite and UCATT have a tradition of international solidarity and we are also confident that the merger will also make our global federation stronger,” said Ambet Yuson, general secretary of the BWI.