Free Movement in the EU The Case of Great Britain

to workers from the new member states. Seven years later, it is time to take stock. This study analyses the public debate in Great Britain, the impact on labour markets as well as the implications for welfare and overall economic and societal effects. Par-ticular emphasis is given to the role of trade unions and their responses to the new members and workers. The number of arrivals from new member states hugely exceeded all estimates. It continued to rise until the number in the labour force stood at 516 000 in September 2008 amounting to 1.7 per cent of the workforce. Overall migration has contributed to the growth of the UK economy through increasing the working population. Ad-ditional benefits to society include increasing diversity in mono-cultural parts of the UK and entrepreneurialism and the growth of small firms. The scale of inward migration, low union density and lacking coverage by collective agreements in the private sector have proved a challenge for trade unions. Collec-tively through the TUC and individual unions the UK trade union movement has had positive, inclusive and often pro-active attitudes to migrant workers. Trade unions have used a range of innovative strategies to recruit, organise and integrate migrant workers