Comedia struggles with declining membership and seeks merger partners

 The 2006 annual accounts of the media union Comedia once again show a loss due to falling membership figures. The Comedia board is therefore considering a merger with other unions. With whom and when remains to be seen. According to the SDA, the central treasury, the relief fund and the campaign fund closed with a loss of around 750,000 francs. The reason: declining membership figures. At the end of 1999, the year Comedia was founded, there were 17,800 members; now there are only 14,300. While the press and electronic media, book and media trade and visual communication sectors are growing continuously, the number of members in the graphic arts and packaging sector has fallen by 4,700 (30 percent). The Central Executive Committee and management see the political and financial perspective in a merger with one or more trade unions. However, a merger only with the Communication Union (GeKo) is not an alternative, as the two unions alone would not reach the critical size. Nevertheless, at its congress in Basel on June 22-23, 2007, the Comedia leadership will propose that a merger with the Unia union or the GeKo be examined by 2009.