In order to bolster its argument against the planned Vodafone and Three merger in the UK, the Unite trade union commissioned a poll of Three consumers.

We are aware of this because Unite sent a letter to the UK Competition and Markets Authority, which published it. The union had earlier opposed the merger on the justifiable grounds that it would lead to employment losses and, earlier still, more speculative national security concerns.

This time, it hired the polling firm Survation to conduct a survey among 1,000 consumers in the United Kingdom. The purpose of the survey was to find out how the merger will affect the availability of mobile services, which is a crucial requirement for the CMA's phase 2 examination. Unite's stated goal was to show how the merger will negatively impact the UK mobile industry, focusing on three consumers who were thought to be the most vulnerable.

The primary justification for this conclusion is that Three, the UK's rival mobile brand, has some of the most affordable plans, which it appears the combined firm would eliminate. The letter clarified that in order to completely comprehend the social impact of the merger, other intersectional dimensions had to be considered, given the detrimental overall impact of price increases on Three customers.  

Although extrapolating those findings to some form of widespread social harm seems a bit extreme, Unite must be aware that politicians, particularly those in the ruling Labour Party, are likely to take notice of this kind of stuff. All of this, of course, is predicated on the assumption—far from a given—that the combined business will raise prices.