Have halved in members over the last 25 years. And yet they wish to create a super union made of all the little unions. Tony blair has gone conservative, Brown (dearest gordy) has made a stance on his tight apron strings and noone is allowed to strike for the sake of their friends in catering (take note BA staff).
Who will look after the working class man now? 
Re: The british trade unions
It's upto the workers to join the unions. Unions lost power after Iron Maggie so membership decreased but unions still have a lot of authority and influence. Some of the most succesful factories/car plants in UK are based on a 3 way dialogue with union input. Look at how Nissan, Honda, Toyota do business here. Unions are happy as are the companies.