THE STUC has hailed a big rise in membership, with more than 20,000 new young workers joining a union last year.

Young workers from across Scotland headed to Clydebank for the 84th STUC youth conference at the weekend and were buoyed by data from the Labour Force Survey revealing that membership among 16 to 34-year-olds had rocketed by 21,772 — a 12 per cent leap — taking the total to 186,293 in 2023.

Overall trade union membership grew by 2.6 per cent to 664,000 in Scotland over the same period. STUC general secretary Roz Foyer described the figures as stunning, adding: