Unifi in talks with Amicus

Finance union UNIFI, which has 159,000 members, has confirmed it is in exclusive merger talks with general union Amicus.

If the merger goes ahead it will create a union of 1.24 million, around the same size as the UK's largest - public services union UNISON.

Ed Sweeney, general secretary of UNIFI, which has financial difficulties, said: "We have reached a decision that our best interests would be served by talking to Amicus, which has a significant existing membership in finance."