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AT FIRST GLANCE it may seem strange that National Liberal Trade Unionists – NLTU – are supporting selfemployed workers.  This is because tradition dictates that trade unionists have only really been interested in those who’re directly employed workers.  To some extent this was understandable, as unions were organized on a workplace basis.

We understand that – in the past – there’s been some animosity between directly employed workers & selfemployed contractors who’ve been brought in to complement them.  This is a matter of regret as self-employed workers often have to chase work (and travel vast distances to get it).  However, we National Liberal Trade Unionists differ from other socialist-orientated trade unionists in that our definition of ‘workers’ tends to be broader.  Like all other workers the self-employed contribute to the economy and they deserve our support and respect.