Union links with Labour

Unions affiliated to the Labour Party have invited party leader Ed Miliband to a private meeting during this month’s TUC Congress to discuss their relationship.

The 15 affiliated unions, through their grouping TULO, told the Morning Star newspaper that they had invited him to a meeting to discuss his “ill-thought-through” plans to change the way unions members affiliate to the party.

In July, Miliband said that “individual trade union members should choose to join Labour through the affiliation fee, not be automatically affiliated.”

Unions are concerned that making it more unwieldy for their members to affiliate to Labour will lose the party much support and money. Ian Lavery, chair of the trade union group of Labour MPs, believes fewer than 15% of union members would opt to join under the changes.