Trades Unions are seeing an increase in their membership as many workers seek to safeguard their employment or see this as beneficial should things go wrong.
Some Unions have seen a 10% increase in membership during the first quarter of 2009 and a 30% increase in consultations, a situation which has led to the hiring of extra lawyers to meet demand.
This increase is despite the number of people who decide to leave the Unions, most of these being members who become unemployed, obtain no unemployment benefits and decide to cancel their membership to cut costs.