Regular readers of the 'Mail on Sunday' (don't worry your secret is safe with is!), will know the paper is hardly renowned for its progressive approach to politics. Asylum seekers and 'gypsies' are the paper's current 'love to hates', but trade unions are always there or thereabouts.

In fact the Mail is owned by Associated Press who in turn own Northcliffe Press who fought a bitter, but ultimately fruitless, anti-union campaign to try to prevent the NUJ securing union recognition on its regional titles.

Which makes it even more surprising that the MoS ran an article yesterday headlined 'PLAY THE UNION CARD FOR A BETTER PAY DEAL'.

The article (which unfortunately is not on the MoS's web-site so no link I'm afraid), goes on to advise Mail readers...

" ....[a] union card is the ticket to a bigger pay packet, according to government figures just out.
They show that members still earn much more than non-members. And that goes for the private sector as well as the public sector, though the 'union wage premium' is higher for state employees.

Department of Trade and Industry figures for trade union membership last year show that members earned 17 per cent more overall than non-members.

In the private sector, the premium was just over six per cent, with members earning £10.29 an hour and non-members £9.69. But in the public sector, the premium was more than 23 per cent, with workers in unions earning £12.26 an hour and non-members £9.94. "

Has the MoS undergone a 'Paulian' conversion? What can we expect next week - exertions to the Government to announce a migration amnesty? Editorials calling for LESS police on the beat?

If you want a full copy of the article, leave a comment and I'll e-mail you one through.