GMB Plans Drive To Recruit UK Casino Staff

The GMB union is planning a recruitment drive among croupiers and casino staff in a renewed effort to move away from its traditional manufacturing background.

The union planned to use casinos as a springboard into the hospitality industry, aiming to follow the success of US unions that have recruited in Las Vegas.

Unite Here, a US union that will speak at this week's GMB annual conference, has increased its membership among staff in Las Vegas casinos to 50,000, from 10,000 in 1987.

The move by GMB comes after other drives by the union into high-profile, poorly unionised areas of the economy. GMB already has divisions for sex workers and chauffeurs.

Two-thirds of its 600,000 members work in service industries, with a third employed in manufacturing - reversing the ratio of ten years ago.

Paul Kenny, GMB's acting general secretary, said: "We have got to adapt ourselves to the world of work today." The union said its research showed that commercial services employ 55.6 per cent of all employees in Britain. The figure is 60 per cent in London, it said.

"We need to replace the well-paid manufacturing jobs of yesterday with well-paid commercial service jobs for tomorrow," Mr Kenny said.