The TUC is co-ordinating attempts to unionise the UK's new media industry by launching workSMART.

It is using the internet to target employees of new economy companies.

The scheme, called workSMART, will be launched by TUC general secretary John Monks on Thursday, ahead of the TUC annual congress in mid-September.

The workSMART web site is the latest move to encourage union membership, particularly in web design agencies, which have traditionally lacked union representation.

Previous attempts to unionise by the Communications Workers' Union and the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU) have failed to produce any significant results.

Although unions like the GPMU have had traditional bases in information and knowledge sectors in the UK, they have been poorly organised in the information technology sector.

The dispersed and flexible work patterns of the sector do match the close physical proximity between unions and members, which has assisted organisation in traditional sectors.

In the United States, unions were non-existent in the new media and technology industries but, when the dot.com bubble, workers began to look towards unions to help them, even forming new e-unions.

TUC head of campaigns and communications Nigel Stanley said: "We're not directly recruiting people to unions. We're trying to shift people's attitudes to the TUC and unions.

"Many workers in these industries have no experience of unions and we want to show them we're in touch with the modern world of work."

The web site covers employment rights and health problems in the workplace.

There is a union finder to help prospective members find the right union to join.

Many in the trade union movement believe new information and communication technologies could be harnessed to help unions recruit and retain members.

This would include easing participation problems by using email, web sites, chat rooms, bulletin boards and online application and voting mechanisms.

At the TUC's congress last year, a report on Reaching the Missing Millions, drawn up by the TUC's task group on promoting trade unionism, recommended the more systematic use of web-based services to improve union recruitment.

The TUC has funded the launch of workSMART but aims to cover its running costs though developing its own income streams.

These may include public funding, sponsorship, licencing of content to others and commission on the services available.

The TUC web site was developed after teaming up with lifestyle web site UpMyStreet.

www.tuc.org.uk
www.worksmart.org.uk
www.upmystreet.com