Amicus (trade union)
 |
|
| Founded | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | MSF and AEEU |
| Date dissolved | 1 May 2007 |
| Merged into | Unite |
| Members | 1.2 million |
| Affiliation | TUC, ICTU, STUC |
| Office location | London, England |
| Country | United Kingdom & Ireland |
Amicus was the United Kingdom's second-largest trade union, and the largest private sector union, formed by the merger of Manufacturing Science and Finance and the AEEU (Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union), agreed in 2001, and two smaller unions, UNIFI and the GPMU. Amicus also organised in both parts of Ireland and was affiliated to the UK Trades Union Congress, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Scottish Trades Union Congress.
On 1 May 2007 it merged with the TGWU to form Unite, which is the biggest trade union in the UK.
Amicus organised workers in almost every industry, predominantly in the private sector. At the 2005 TUC Congress it was reported that Amicus had 1,200,000 members of whom 266,986 were female and 933,014 male.
Amicus was affiliated to the Labour Party in Britain, and the Irish Labour Party (Ireland). The Amicus UK Parliamentary Group included about 120 MPs.
When the merger to form Amicus was agreed, the General Secretary of MSF was Roger Lyons, and Sir Ken Jackson led the AEEU. When the merger came into force they both became Joint General Secretaries of Amicus. The AEEU section held an election in July 2002, and Sir Ken Jackson was replaced by Derek Simpson who took office in January 2003. In May 2003, Simpson became General Secretary in his own right following the departure of Lyons. 'Amicus' was chosen from the suggestion of Peter Skinner MEP for the name of this new union for its Latin meaning: friend, comrade (m).
...
Wikipedia