Membership rise

Shopworkers' union USDAW has seen its membership rise above 314,000 for the first time in a decade.

General secretary Bill Connor described it as a "significant milestone" which has "well and truly reversed the haemorrhage of membership which began with Thatcher's vicious anti-trade union laws". He paid tribute to the recruitment efforts of the union's stewards, full-time officials and the recent influx of recruitment specialists.