GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

bargaining and negotiations, which we are happy to provide and support. So

there is a capacity within the GFTU to take on those special requests for

specialist training and also every union is still entitled to their free one day’s

training on subjects that we think we can deliver for them, so don’t forget to

take that opportunity up.

I guess in the situation where 26 million workers are not organised in unions

our role becomes as important, if not more important, than it always has been

in trying to help the unionisation of workers throughout the country, throughout

the sectors into trade unions, so that means that we are actively supporting the

growth of new unions, some of them very, very small when they first come to

talk to us, just a few hundred members and so on, but with lots of potential to

grow. I think a really important part of our work is helping those small groups to

form, get registered with the Certification Officer and get going and it has been

really enjoyable that we have been able to do that with a number of new unions

over the last period.

Someone said to me that the TUC does not reach out to recruit new unions,

which I thought was quite interesting and probably true. We do. We do. We

keep an active eye on the many, many organisations out there that may be

called professional associations, staff associations or whatever, but which are

in effect embryonic trade unions, nothing wrong with them. There are all sorts

of new groups of workers that by necessity, by desperation of the situation that

employers are facing them with, are forming unions and we need to be at the

forefront of making sure that they join our family. We have had new unions, as

you know, and thanks very much to Voice, GGCA and now the PDA for being

such brilliant members of our family and let’s hope we can get three or four

more new unions in probably before our next EC in July, because there are a

number talking to us at the moment, so that would be good.

Another element of the EC meetings which, surprisingly, I think is probably

unique in the movement is that we begin every meeting by a run round the

table to see what is happening in every union. That kind of basic sharing of the

brilliant work that people are doing and sharing of some of the concerns and

indicating areas where we can help each other out I think is an absolute

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