GPMU general secretary Tony Dubbins said despite a few anxious moments... it had been reassuring to see that the majority of delegates appreciated the difficulties facing the union, and were prepared to follow the Executive Councils lead.

The seven rebel branches that had previously declared their opposition to the merger were said to have okayed the decision to proceed with merger discussions, having seen their proposals fail to be accepted, but as PrintWeek went to press none were available for comment.

All of the Executive Councils proposals on merging union funds and reducing benefits were carried, the Executive Council also carried a motion which makes significant additional cash available to the union at national level.

Dubbins said this amounted to a change in the 37.5% of national contributions retained by branches being reduced to 20%, giving the unions head office an extra 1.7m over 12 months.

A proposal in favour of regionalisation and an anti-merger resolution were both withdrawn.
The road is now open for merger discussions to proceed, and these will be put on a formal level by September, Dubbins said.

The three potential partners are the Transport & General Workers Union, Amicus-AEEU and the Communication Workers Union. If the GPMU had failed to receive approval for discussions to continue, it could have spelt the beginning of the end for the union.

Union action a recent history
July 2002 GPMU puts forward proposals to merge and initiates discussions with TGWU, AMICUS-AEEU and CWU
April 2003 Union starts investigation at Kent branch
May 2003 Tony Dubbins reaffirms proposals to merge as he outlines the next step for survival for the union
June 2003 Dubbins warns that seven GPMU branches were threatening legal action, and it could lead to unions demise
June 2003 GPMUs Kent branch fails to take out a High Court injunction to stop a probe into alleged financial irregularities
June 2003 Proposals for merger discussions approved

Story by Andy Scott