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May the first is Labour Day; a day when we celebrate the economic and social achievements of the workers mostly brought about by the trade union movement.

Last week saw the first teacher's strike in 20 years and oil refinery workers at Grangemouth in Scotland held a two day strike over pensions. But with the membership of unions on the decline and the globalisation of the economy how relevant are trade unions in this day and age. Despite their membership decline recent figures show that our public services went on strike more in recent years than ever before - are unions just becoming a tool for the public service?
It used to be the norm to be a member of a trade union, now that is not the case - why? What affect does the non unionisation of a workforce have; and how do the unions affect small businesses?

There is a growing trend for US consultants to come over to the UK and actively encourage the non unionisation of workforces; this is something that the TUC is concerned about - why?