Key to next generation of members is online

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber is urging unions to expand their use of the internet so that they can "recruit and organise the next generation of union members".

The "Organising Online" conference run earlier this month by the IPPR think tank noted that, having initially been slow to react to the potential of the internet, some union initiatives are starting to fundamentally change their recruitment and organising techniques.

However, the conference raised a note of caution about over-reliance on technological solutions. IPPR senior research fellow Will Davies said the internet enabled individuals to "amass a large number of weak forms of membership, and shirk more demanding forms of membership."