Developments in Trade Unionism in the Financial Sector in Britain

This article puts forward evidence to argue that finance workers, especially bank workers, in Britain are becoming more `unionate'. This is not to argue that these workers are becoming `militant' for while the developments are significant they remain cautious and uneven. An examination is made of why these developments have occurred and how they relate to the employers' human resource policies, why the growth in trade unionism in the financial sector runs counter to a trend of decline elsewhere and why significant differences in trade unionism exist within the different components in the financial sector.