Gilman, Mark

In February, the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) launched a consultative paper aimed at influencing the pre-election commitments of both the Conservative Party and Labour Party. The union, which is firmly against privatisation of the Post Office, has called for legislation to turn it into an independent corporation, with the level of dividends pegged at 40% of post-tax profits. The union feels that its proposals will have equal appeal to all political parties because of the weight of public opinion opposing privatisation.

Declining union membership and a legal and ideological attack on the role of trade unions over the past 17 years may have left many with the opinion that employees no longer value the right to act collectively. It has been argued that the attack on the unions throughout the 1980s and 1990s has left the unions weak and unable to protect members' rights. Alternatively, it has been argued that people now prefer to negotiate their own employment contracts individually and do not need trade unions.

At the beginning of February the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) set out its long term priorities for beyond the forthcoming general election. Its director general, Adair Turner said that "whatever happens between now and May, there are fundamental issues for business which need attention. The changing nature of the world in which we do business brings both opportunities and challenges, and the CBI should be at the heart of change."

As the 1 May election date draws nearer, both the Conservative Government and the main opposition party, Labour, have begun to fight their campaigns by taking opposite stances on the social policy Agreement annexed to the Maastricht Treaty on European Union - the so-called "social chapter", from which the UK has "opted out". In February, the Government launched an attack, stating that if the Labour Party were to win the general election, its commitment to "signing up" to the social chapter would cost the UK 500,000 jobs.