This move will create the UK’s largest managerial and professional union, representing 124,000 members across the private and public sectors and a diverse range of occupations.
Adrian Askew, Connect’s General Secretary, said: “I am delighted that our members have strongly backed plans to merge with Prospect. This promises an exciting future, and we look forward to working closely with colleagues in Prospect, sharing our expertise and our innovative approaches to trade unionism to represent and protect our members.”
Connect members will be part of a dedicated sector for communications workers within Prospect, benefiting from a shared focus on delivering for professional members and commitment to a positive agenda.
Askew added: “This merger will help us to realise our vision of creating a union to protect and represent our professional members throughout their careers, with their union membership as a vital part of their career plans. We share Prospect’s commitment to a focus on the issues that really matter at work, working proactively with our members and their industry to shape the future of the world of work.”
Paul Noon, General Secretary of Prospect, said: “This is a great result and confirms Prospect as the UK’s fastest growing union.
"Our strong focus on Prospect as a professional union for professional people has been shown to have wide appeal. This year alone we have seen nearly 25,000 new members join us, ranging from telecommunications specialists in Connect to aircraft safety engineers in the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers and public sector workers in the Jersey Civil Service Association.”
Connect represents 19,000 managers and professionals in the telecommunications and ICT industries, including BT, O2, Vodafone, Yell, Ericsson, Kingston Communications, Hewlett Packard, Airwave, Steria and Computacenter, plus telecoms and ICT contractors.
Prospect represents 102,000 engineers, scientists, managers and specialists across the agriculture, defence, energy, environment, heritage, industry and transport sectors.