Union Building Conference 2018

Union Building Conference 2018

23 – 25 February

Yarnfield Conference Centre

Map and Transport Details for Yarnfield Conference Centre

Yarnfield Park Training & Conference Centre Yarnfield Lane Yarnfield Staffordshire ST15 0NL

By Road

• Junction 14, M6: 10 minutes from Yarnfield Park • Junction 15, M6: 15 minutes from Yarnfield Park

NB. If approaching Yarnfield Park from the south on leaving the M6 J14 your Satellite Navigation system may direct you up the A5013/ Eccleshall Road. However the quickest way is to take the A34 north towards Stone and enter Yarnfield Lane at the Wayfarer pub on the left.

By Air

• Birmingham Airport: 1hr by car or train, 49 miles • Manchester Airport: 1hr 10 minutes by car or train, 47 miles • East Midlands Airport: 1hr 10 minutes by car or train, 48 miles

By Rail

• London to Stafford: 1hr 15 minutes, trains run every half hour • Birmingham to Stafford: 30 minutes, trains every half hour • Manchester to Stoke: 35 minutes, trains every half hour • Leeds to Stoke: 1hr 45minutes, trains every half hour • Cardiff to Stafford: 2hrs 40 minutes, trains every half hour • Edinburgh to Stoke: 3hrs 40 minutes, trains circa every hour

For specific train and ticket information please visit: www.nationalrail.co.uk or www.virgintrains.co.uk

Union Building Conference.

Programme

There will be some flexibility on timings to accommodate parliamentary colleagues who have one vote to attend on Friday pm in the House .

Workshop themes and choices can also be made by the participants.

Friday

12 onwards arrivals and lunch

12.30 Lunch served

Registration.

2.00 Opening Plenary – Introductions, Introduction to guest unions, overview of conference, Ian Lawrence and Kate Fallon – new examples of practical co-operation between unions, Paul De Felice, a new trade union official apprenticeship course, Edda Nicolson, working on the GFTU History, Grace Millar union rebuilding in New Zealand, Nadine Rae, compulsory recruitment training. 3.30 Workshop choices. Engaging young people in the unions, recruitment training, union officials’ apprenticeships, supporting each other in casework.

5.00

Close workshops, Plenary, Parliamentary report, Lloyd Russel Moyles.

6.00

Evening Meal.

7.30

Cultural Work and the GFTU, rebuilding the imagination.

9.00

Socialising/Networking

Saturday

Breakfast

9.30 Plenary – Trade Union Education. Launching the GFTU’s new book on trade union education, a session facilitated by Alan Smith, Mike Seal, Christine Smith, Catharyn Lawrence, Lyndsey McDowell, Gawain Little. 11.00 Workshop Choices, what we want from the GFTU, more about training the trainers, a new way of learning, becoming a learning union.

1.00

Lunch

2.00

Plenary – Transforming trade union and employment law, Sonya McKay.

3.30 Workshop Choices, supporting the IER Manifesto in our Unions, sectoral collective bargaining, employment law training in unions, accessing legal services and the GFTU offer.

5.00

Close Workshops, Plenary, introducing the international debate.

6.00

Evening Meal.

7.30

International discussion – Venezuela, Kurdish Question.

9.00

Socialising.

Sunday

Breakfast and check out.

9.30 Plenary – Economic situation, Including new GFTU Services. Phil Whyman, Ian Richards.

10.30 Workshop Choices, Economic literacy and why it’s important, the GFTU Services, Internationalism in the unions.

12.00 Closing Plenary.

1.00

Lunch. Depart.

Union Building Conference

February 23 - 25 Yarnfield Conference Centre, Stone, Staffordshire.

Programme at a glance.

Friday 23 February

12

noon onwards arrivals and lunch

Registration.

Opening Plenary

2.00pm

3.30pm

Workshop choices

5.30pm

Close workshops

6.00pm

Evening Meal

Recruitment – sharing experiences

8.00pm

10.00pm Socialising/Networking

Saturday 24 February

Breakfast

9.30am

Plenary – Trade Union Education.

10.30am

Workshop Choices

1.00pm

Lunch

2.00pm

Plenary

3.30pm

Workshop Choices

5.30pm

Close Workshops

6.00pm

Evening Meal

8.00pm

The power of art in organising

10.00pm

Socialising

Sunday 25 February

Breakfast and check out

9.30am

Plenary – Including GFTU Services

10.30am

Workshop Choices

12.00 noon Closing Plenary

1.00pm

Union Building Conference concludes - Lunch

Union Building Conference

Some of our presenters, guests and staff

James Cathcart

James was formerly Chief Executive of the British Youth Council and advises organisations, including trade unions on matters relating to youth engagement.

Paul DeFelice

Paul is Principal of Ruskin College and a historian. The GFTU has been actively involved with supporting Ruskin College for many decades and has reserved places on the governing Council.

Dr Kate Fallon

Kate is General Secretary of the GFTU affiliated Union the Association of Education Psychologists.

Marcos Garcia

Is a former transport trade union General Secretary in Venezuela and now works as the trade union attache at the Venezuelan Embassy in London.

Ian Lawrence.

Ian is General Secretary of the GFTU affiliated Union the National Association of Probation Officers and Family Court Staff.

Dr Sonia McKay

Sonia McKay is Professor of European Socio-Legal Studies at the Working Lives Research Insitute, London Metropolitan University. She heads a number of research projects, mainly focusing on discrimination, migration and collective organisation She holds a law degree from Queens University, Belfast and a Ph.D in employment law from Wolfson College, Cambridge. She previously worked for the Labour Research Department (LRD) where she held the post of employment law researcher from 1983 until 2004. She is a member of the Institute for Employment Rights.

Catharyn Lawrence

Catharyn is lecturer in trade union studies at Northern College and has been teaching on a number of GFTU Courses held at the College over the last year.

Gawain Little

Gawain is a member of the Executive of the National Education Union NUT Section and with Lindsay McDowell contributed a chapter to the recent GFTU Publication Trade Union Education .

John McDonnell, MP.

John is Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Lindsay McDowell

Is former education officer at the National Union of Teachers and is now the Head of Education at the Fire Brigades Union.

Dr Grace Miller.

Grace is one of the post doc students working on the project supported by the GFTU on the history of the coalfields. Grace has worked previously with the trade union movement in New Zealand.

Edda Nicolson.

Edda is originally from Iceland and recently graduated in history from Wolverhampton University. The GFTU is sponsoring Edda to undertake her Ph D in the history of the GFTU.

Nadine Rae

Nadine is a Trustee of the GFTU Educational Trust and is Head of Education and Equalities at GFTU affiliated Union TSSA.

Lloyd Russell Moyles MP

Lloyd Chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Affairs and supports trade unions on many issues in Parliament.

Dr Michael Sanders.

Mike is a Trustee of the GFTU Educational Trust and Senior Lecturer in 19 th Century Writing at Manchester University with a specialism in the Chartists.

Paul Scholey

Paul is the senior partner at Morrish solicitors and an employment lawyer who has attended previous GFTU Conferences. He advises Unions and individuals about workplace issues including industrial action and collective bargaining. He has a particular interest in cases relating to the use of Social Media and has facilitated GFTU training events on this subject.

Dr Mike Seal

Is a member of the new Workable Books Board on behalf of the GFTU Educational Trust and has attended the last two Union Building Conferences. He recently edited the GFTU/New Internationalist Book, Trade Union Education .

Alan Smith

Alan has attended the last two GFTU Union Building Conferences and will be leading the new Training the Trainers’ Course. Alan is Senior Lecturer in youth and community work at Leeds Beckett University with whom the GFTU has a partnership.

Christine Smith

Christine has attended the last two GFTU Union Building Conferences and lectures in youth and community work. Christine is at Hull University.

David Sorensen.

David heads the employment team at Morrish solicitors and manages a caseload of employment matters on behalf of unions, associations, professional bodies, charities as well as private clients.

Professor Stephanie Taylor.

Stephanie is unable to attend our Conference but has contributed a brief thought piece for us on the new work environment, she has recently edited a book on this subject. Stephanie is on the Central Academic Staff of the Open University, and is Senior Lecturer in Psychology, in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences in the School of Psychology.

Akif Winzar

Akif is the representative of the Kurdish National Council in the UK.

Professor Phillip Whyman

Phil was educated at the University of Bradford and he has worked in both public and private sectors, including a period spent as researcher for the trade union USDAW. Initially appointed as research assistant and Lecturer in Economics at the University of Bradford, he spent a year as Research Fellow at the Statsvetenskapliga Institutionen of Stockholm University. Phil is Director of the Lancashire Institute for Economic and Business Research.

Sarah Woolley.

Sarah is a member of the GFTU Executive and Finance Committees and provides leadership to the group organising the annual Youth Festivals. Sarah is a regional official for the GFTU affiliated Union the Bakers’ Food and Allied Workers Union.

GFTU Staff in attendance.

Dr John Callow.

John is the GFTU’s Education Officer he has written numerous books on aspects of union and labour history.

Wendy Cheung.

Wendy is the GFTU’s Head of Finance and manages a team that also undertakes the accountancy, bookkeeping and audit work for trade unions and community organisations.

Ian Richards.

Ian is the GFTU Operations Manager and particularly looks after marketing, shared services and HR matters.

Claire Ryan.

Claire is the administrator for the Union Building Conference and is the Personal Assistant to the General Secretary.

Please see any of the staff to make your participation at the Conference as pleasant and helpful as possible.

Union Building Conference Thinkpiece.

New norms of work? A discussion paper

Since the mid-to-late 20 th century, there have been considerable changes to work and employment in advanced economies like the UK. Media reports tend to focus on technological developments, like robotics, but working lives have already changed greatly, and not only because of technology. The extent and details may vary, but most commentators suggest  Many working people don't earn reasonable pay, or even enough to live on  Many have insecure employment, and not as much work as they want (or need)  The boundaries between work and free time are less clearcut than in the past  Partly as a consequence, working hours are longer  More people today work for themselves, running their own businesses, working freelance or self-employed (although that last status is of course debatable for some of them, such as the 'taskers' in the gig economy)  Even workers who are in conventional employment are expected to be more responsible, self-managing, innovative, future-focused and, in a word, entrepreneurial. Of course, some of these changes may offer improvements, like more autonomy and more personal engagement and satisfaction. It has been suggested that one reason for the rise in self-employment is that people want to be able to work flexibly. Nevertheless, many social psychologists take a more critical position. Who do the changes favour and who do they disadvantage? Are they making it more difficult to be a 'good' worker today, especially for certain categories of people? Perhaps a future focus comes more naturally to younger people, but responsibility is a quality associated with maturity and therefore perhaps with age. However, a requirement to be engaged and flexible will be more challenging for people with heavy responsibilities in their lives outside work, for instance, as parents or carers. Also, flexibility sounds good when it refers to a worker being able to choose what work to do and how intensively to do it, but less so when the flexibility advantages the employer: apparently about half of UK workers are so flexible around working hours that they now work overtime for no pay! Many of these changes are no longer experienced as change but instead are accepted and accommodated. They are part of a 'new normal' for many workers, yet normality is a complex concept. For example, flexibility is a new norm in the double sense of being a description of the behaviour of many workers, and also what people accept as necessary, or feel that they should do without question (even when it disadvantages them). So in this second sense, 'normal' is a prescriptive term, implying a value judgement. Yet these two senses of 'normal' are not always in sync. This can be seen in the example of the many parents who are also workers. The Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-work-the-taylor-review-of-modern-

1

working-practices notes that in Britain today 'it has become conventional for both parents of small children to work' (p.97). Yet the same review reports that a survey found that '50% of mothers described a negative impact on their opportunity, status or job security' (p.96) as a result of having a baby (i.e. during pregnancy, maternity leave or when they returned to work after maternity leave). So it's normal for mothers (and fathers) to work, in the sense of this being a common behaviour, but the idea that mothers work doesn't seem to be accepted. There's a disjunction between the behaviour and the thinking about it. Working mothers are still being treated as odd or 'not normal' in that their situations are questioned, made difficult, problematized. The example indicates that ideas and values do not automatically change to reflect what people are doing. Behaviours can continue to be ignored, or treated as abnormal, even when they're common. A further issue is how the changing requirements of work might shape the workers themselves. What changes have occurred in the way they think about work? What aspects of work and working lives have come to be taken for granted as normal and unremarkable? Following from that, how are people changing themselves to manage this ‘new normal’ and become the kind of worker that's required? For instance, are they learning to be more entrepreneurial? Are they accepting different values, prioritising flexibility over loyalty or creativity over conscientiousness? And if they are, do these changes come at a cost, conflicting perhaps with other values and identities? Some answers are indicated in a new collection presenting research from eleven countries: The new normal of working lives: critical studies in contemporary work and employment , co-edited by Stephanie Taylor and Susan Luckman for Palgrave Macmillan (2018). The collection suggests that whether people today are employed by an organisation or work for themselves, they operate to a great extent as ‘loners’ rather than as part of a collective. They accept individual responsibility, for solving problems and meeting deadlines, for acquiring qualifications and updating their technological skills, and, if they are self-employed, for paying for their workplaces and equipment. They also give up their personal time. They accept very long working days, disciplining themselves to work more hours with less ‘down time’. They work evenings and weekends, and in transit between home and work. They take for granted the breakdown of barriers between work and private life, so they are seldom off duty. Many self-employed people use their homes as their workplaces, especially as a way of managing caring responsibilities. Some have taken over work that was previously the responsibility of the public sector, such as the provision of care for the elderly. Some of them are making new jobs out of activities often regarded as hobbies, like computer gaming or blogging or vlogging. Many of them bring their personal selves into their work, utilising their enthusiasms (for instance, for the gaming) or their private experiences (in the blogging and vlogging). All of this contributes to the problems already noted. Many of the workers don’t earn much, especially for the effort and the long hours they put in. Yet they apparently accept the difficulties as necessary. In the most extreme situations they manage by hoping for better lives in the future, even when there seems little reason to expect improvement, and sometimes when their current actions (for instance, incurring debts while working unpaid) will almost certainly create later problems. Taken together, the collection therefore

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presents a picture of difficulties but also optimism, of dedication but also great expectations. It suggests that contemporary workers discipline themselves to be extremely hardworking and tolerant of difficulties, to prioritise their jobs over their private lives, to accept disappointment and limited rewards but also remain ambitious and optimistic.

Is this a sustainable ideal, or even one that can be achieved?

Whose interests does it serve?

What is required for people to make yourselves into 'new workers'?

And is this who they should be aspiring to become?

Stephanie Taylor, School of Psychology, The Open University (stephanie.taylor@open.ac.uk)

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Union Building Conference.

Thinkpiece.

Reviving the real economy.

Doug Nicholls argues that the real economy is reviving as the sleeping giant of politics is waking up.

The key economic indicators that trade unionists used to consider closely were: the balance of trade deficit, the value of the pound, manufacturing production output, research and development (R&D) investment and unemployment levels. Together these reflected the political health of the country to the extent that production was primary and that capital, until 1979 legally restricted in its movements, was being reinvested to regenerate the wealth creating base. As the country got further and further embroiled into the European Union with its key neoliberal policies of the free movement of capital, privatisation and deregulation, the shift from the real economy of industrial production to the virtual reality of financial speculation, also led to a shift away from discussing the most revealing economic indicators.

It’s time to get back to them and a bit of objectivity.

It is hardly surprising that a declaration of withdrawal from the EU in itself has begun to see the tide of the real economy again turning and some early hopeful signs of improvement being recorded. Nor is it surprising that good news for the real economy will be ignored by the pro EU media.

Here are some of the positive signs that are occurring and which should be welcomed.

Unemployment figures (based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition) and collected by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) are falling and are down to 4.3%. This represents of course misery for the 1.4 million workers and their families who are impacted so terribly and we know of the state of casual and zero hours employment and McJobs in the economy. One person unemployed for more than four weeks is an unacceptable tragedy, but the trend in Britain is to a reduction in unemployment and figures are at their lowest for 42 years. In the EU, a low growth high unemployment zone always, there are officially, according to the EU data gatherers Eurostat, 18.1 million unemployed, that is double our figures as a percentage of the overall population at around 8%. Historically the EU figures have been higher and some statisticians say they are closer in reality to 26 million. Balance of trade figures expose the difference between what we export and what we import. EU membership quite transformed Britain from a net exporter of goods, with a positive balance of trade, to a net importer. Britain remains a very significant partner for individual EU economies. 26 out of the 27 other EU countries exported a greater proportion of their goods to the UK than the UK exported to them in 2015. We have a very strong negotiating position in Brexit. Researchers used to compile lists of literally tens of thousands of items that Britain could no longer manufacture and which were imported instead. The transition from coal production to 100% coal

importation was at the heart of the EU’s efforts to ensure Britain could not be politically independent.

As we produced less we imported more with all sorts of consequences for green concerns, for jobs, quality and prices. The recent trend is to reduce the trade deficit. The total difference between imports and exports has gone down by £2.1billion to £6.2billion in the three months to November 2017. Significantly, this figure has been reduced due to an increase of non-EU country exports rising by 5.3 percent (£2.3billion). Manufacturing company order books at the end of 2017 were higher than they have been since 1988. An Office for National Statistics (ONS) spokesperson said: “The trade deficit narrowed in the last three months, due mainly to increased exports of services, shipments of works of art and cars. He went on: “Over the last year exports of goods, particularly cars, machinery and crude oil, have continued to increase, and at a faster rate than imports." In the three months to November 2017 the volume of production in the heavy industries is estimated to have risen by 1.2 percent compared with the three months to August 2017. There was strong growth in manufacturing in the same period, as it rose by 3.9 percent with renewable energy projects, boats, aeroplanes and cars for export all boosting figures to their best for ten years. Unsurprisingly this has had knock on benefits in the pay packets of manufacturing workers. As the Bank of England reported at the end of 2017 they found that shortages of labour across the manufacturing sector were leading to a “slight increase in pay growth” that would take average rate of pay rises up by half a percent, from 2-3% in 2017 to 2.5%-3.5% in 2018. The Royal Society has reported Britain spends a lower percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Research and Development (R&D) than practically all comparative countries. However, linked now to the new industrial strategy is a commitment to raise this to 2.4% of GDP in ten years and 3% in the longer term. When the latest figures were gathered in 2015 it was only 1.68%. Unions must press for even more as this will be crucial to our future. This trend is welcome and set alongside the apprenticeship levy and some other developments gives unions an opportunity to push for more upskilling and growth in real sustainable jobs in greener industries. Once externally imposed rules on such things as procurement, public spending limits, state aid and so on are lifted a faster revival of production will become more possible.

Lugalbanda Lover of the seed

A new version by Doug Nicholls

Beautifully designed, printed and written with some stimulating discussion notes, this book is a fund-raiser for the Free Ocalan campaign.

It brings to the attention of modern readers a poem written 5,000 years ago but still with incredible relevance to us today. The imprisoned political leader Abdullah Ocalan draws attention to the first Sumerian civilisation built between the Tigris and Euphrates, in the troubled lands today covered by Iraq and Syria. This civilisation was forgotten for over 2,000 years, buried under sands, but when it was rediscovered it was realised that the Sumerians had brought to humanity agriculture, architecture, the first writing, the first schools, the first written poetry, the first laws and many other notable inventions.

Lugalbanda Lover of the seed

This delightful and surprising story of the exploits of Lugalbanda and what powers he chooses as a reward for looking after the chick of a monstrous bird in the mountains, is a joy to read, so distant yet so near, and also compels us to think about some profound truths in our own world. A fantastic read for young and old and whether you have read poetry before or not. The author’s notes on the poem will surprise and challenge you as they extract layers of meaning from the poem.

A new version by Doug Nicholls

Order Form Lugalbanda Lover of the seed A new version by Doug Nicholls

Lugalbanda Lover of the seed

Just £5.99 per copy including postage and packing.

A new version by Doug Nicholls

If you require more than 10 copies please ring 01509 412 874 . A reduction can be negotiated in unit prices. Orders can be placed direct on the GFTU Ethical shop at https:/ ethicalshop.org/our-partners/es-gftu.html Alternatively send your order to: Manifesto Press, Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Road, Croydon CR0 1BD. Cheques to be made payable to ‘Manifesto Press’ or visit manifestopress.org.uk

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Union Building Conference.

Thinkpiece.

Trade Union Education Doug Nicholls, General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Union, believes that trade union education urgently needs a revitalised content and a new method of delivery. First published 2015. In his July 9th article in the Morning Star Dr John Fisher reminded us of the effect of years of state funding for trade union education. He who pays the piper calls the tune. A generation of trade union learners have had the political content stripped from their learning. I argue also that the form of training delivery has mirrored the neutralised content and helped to teach ignorance and obedience. The Establishment teach their children to rule from an early age, prep school to public school to Oxbridge. At heart they learn the arrogant and confident mannerisms of rulers, an ability to talk about anything as if they know something about it. They learn some concepts and history; this is why they focus on politics, philosophy and economics (PPE). Once upon a time the best unions would engage workers in these subjects too. Courses would commence with discussions about the world we wanted to live in and the laws that underpin capitalist economics and a socialist alternative. This was done to develop understandings and convictions that would build our organisations and provide the motivation for learning the skills necessary to win for our members and transform the political scene. This tradition was then turned on its head. Trade union training got locked into considerations of a very narrow range of technical and vocational areas, tutors became purveyors of information and facts, classes looked more like school rooms than workers discussion circles, qualification replaced empowerment, learners were told what to learn instead of encouraged to learn from their experience, rigid curricula stifled debate. As state funded adult education disappeared, so elements of trade union training became a poor substitute, signposting learners to dwindling vocational opportunities while the market let rip. It was all very interesting knowing the detail of redundancy and health and safety legislation, but all very irrelevant if the workplace was closing down as if because of forces of nature or fate. Education proved a thin shield as the post war social democratic consensus and manufacturing based economy were being transformed into today’s neoliberal nightmare. While most people feel that austerity is wrong, very few can articulate why it has come about and the political and economic alternative to it. In reality the popular consensus has bought into the whacky idea that the debt and deficit are the cause of our problems.

When bankers say they create wealth, few union reps seem able these days to counter this joke with an assertion of the labour theory of value and remind them that everything in their marble vaults comes from us. The effect of falling rate of profit has been forgotten and our problems attributed superficially to ‘greedy bankers.’ Worse still workers are being decapitated from the body of knowledge of our history of struggle as a Movement. We have to re-construct a living appreciation of our past to accelerate a better future. There is clearly a desperate need to revive political, philosophical, historical and economic inquiry as the basis for trade union education. Equally there is a need to modernise the methods of learning delivery to make it inspirational and life changing. A very peculiar thing has happened in Britain in this regard. The progressive debate on how workers learn best and what techniques really inspire them has almost completely bypassed trade union education circles and has been advanced instead in youth and community work, adult education and some school based traditions or radical pedagogy. This is not the case in many other Labour Movements. They have embraced radical learning theories and methods that enhance the development of progressive politics and solid organisation. At the GFTU we have been looking at some of their work in Latin America, but look too at a book called Education for Changing Unions about the Canadian experience. Consider the work of Paulo Freire or Antonio Gramsci. The way learning is delivered is as important as what is delivered, sometimes more so. Progressive learning techniques are linked to democratic practice and social change and have a long tradition in Britain going back to the Medieval ‘conventicles’ which argued that the Bible should be translated in English so that ‘the merest ploughboy could read the word of God’. Ultimately their work led to the collapse of the authority of the dominant Latin speaking Catholic Church and the aristocracy it propped up. It continued through the dissenting churches whose ideas very much aided the birth of the unions, many Sunday schools were in fact very socialist. It flourished in Britain when many women trade unionists developed theories of youth engagement and community work to involve workers outside the workplace in the struggle for reforms. The richness of this tradition around the world can be explored on the fantastic website www.infed.org.uk. The new priesthood of neoliberal pundits and politicians and the crowds of dilettante ‘economists’ who seek ultimately to persuade us that we are too stupid to run society in the interests of the majority, should be replaced by a new generation of deeply educated union activists able to see through the myths and compel us in another direction. Let’s change the content and form of trade union education and base it on participative, collective learning to demonstrate another world is possible with a new kind of PPE student in control of our country.

Workable is the joint book publishing initiative of the General Federation of Trade Unions and independent publisher New Internationalist. We believe that the stories, ideas, creativity, organizing and educational experiences of trade unionists need to be more widely shared. And so we are committed to providing a publishing platform for organized workers to express themselves. All revenues raised from this venture will be reinvested into trade union education and publishing. Our publishing objectives are not confined to any one particular subject area. We welcome suggestions for publications in any subject or genre which speak to the world of trade unionism: it could be photographs, novels, memoirs, histories, ideas, plays, poetry or training manuals – you name it, if it relates to trade unionism – we’re interested. Please send an outline of any proposals for publication to: workable@newint.org WO RK AB LE Publishing in 2018 Illustrated Labour History . A graphic work by acclaimed writer S ean Michael Wilson and artist Robert Brown . Heroes of the Evening Mist . A previously unpublished novel by William Ash , fighter pilot, legendary escapee from Nazi prison camps, writer, broadcaster and former President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. Class Songs: Music from the Frontline . The lyrics and music of Dave Rogers and Banner Theatre , accompanied by photographs. Ordering All books are available to order from bookstores worldwide. Ebook editions are available from all major retailers. Also available from: New Internationalist’s Ethical Shop in the UK: ethical shop.org New Internationalist shop in North America: shop.newint.org/na Bulk orders: Wholesale discounts start at 35% for orders of 15 or more copies. Contact: workable@newint.org

WO RK AB LE

A new publishing imprint dedicated to trade unions and organized workers

newint.org/workablebooks

Workers ’ Play Time Seven Scripts from Seven Struggles Edited by Doug Nicholls

Trade Union Education Transforming the World Edited by Mike Seal

There is a rich tradition of theatre dealing with workers’ and trade union struggles through the centuries that can go unacknowledged by the literary mainstream. Often, such plays are staged in alternative venues and too often their scripts are not gathered in any archive and are in danger of being lost. Workers’ Play Time is an anthology of seven such scripts, many of which are appearing in print for the first time:

Trade union education has been in the doldrums for years – it generally lacks modern teaching methods, has outdated content and avoids key areas of history, economics and politics. This book aims to change all that – to mark out new ground that will bring trade union education back to life. The collections features 16 insightful essays from 20 individual practitioners, each with long experience of popular-education techniques. Their contributions offer a wide range of perspectives, divided into four sections: • Key concepts and historical development

October 2017 Paperback 312 pages 216mm x 135mm | 8.5” x 5.5” UK: £9.99 US: $16.95 978-1-78026-427-1 ebook 978-1-78026-428-8

October 2017 Paperback 296 pages 216mm x 135mm | 8.5” x 5.5” £9.99 | $16.95 978-1-78026-425-7 ebook 978-1-78026-426-4

Bolton Rising , by Neil Duffield Luddite protests and savage repression of workers in Lancashire We Will Be Free! by Neil Gore The story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs told by George and Betsy Loveless Hannah, by Eileen Murphy A dramatic monologue by labour activist Hannah Mitchell A Splotch of Red, by James Kenworth Labour Party founder Keir Hardie campaigning in West Ham Dare to Be Free, by Jane McNulty How Mary Quaile organized café workers in the 1920s Out! on the Costa del Trico, by Women’s Theatre Group The Trico women’s strike of 1976 The Chambermaids , by Kathleen McCreery Inspired by the Grosvenor House Hotel strike in the 1980s

• •

Contexts and challenges

Implementing critical education in the classroom and beyond

• Learning from the world The reform and modernization of trade union education is long overdue – but the revolution starts here. Dr Mike Seal is Head of Criminology and Youth and Community Work and Reader in Critical Pedagogy at Newman University, Birmingham. He has worked in the youth work, community development, homelessness and drugs sectors for 25 years. He has written six previous books.

Doug Nicholls is General Secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU). Doug has written very widely on trade unionism, history, literature and youth work.

Union Building Conference.

Sharing best practice, supporting each other.

Trade unions are the oldest, largest and most democratic voluntary organisations in Britain. No other non governmental organisations have had such influence. Our values reflect the most progressive and socially minded concerns of the people. Without our combined impact social and work life in Britain would be much worse for the entire working population. Yet two thirds of workers are not directly involved in our membership. Many members are less active than they could be and all members have a lot to offer our organisations. How do we motivate more support and engagement? Some approaches work better than others, this event seeks to facilitate sharing and discussion of best practice and new ideas. Some unions have organised nearly 100% of their potential membership. Yet their members are not always as active as needed to benefit from such strength of number. Some unions have been in existence for hundreds of years and survived many storms. But the current weather forecast may not be so good for them. Some unions are just forming and full of new energy, finding new ways of organising new groups of workers.

Some unions face the destruction of the industry or services which gave rise to them.

Some unions are general, some unions are specialist and relate to particular occupations. Some unions are general unions with specialist sections.

Some unions recruit their members for life, some lose members when their jobs go.

In some unions the majority of members are actually self-employed. In some the majority work for massive employing organisations, in others, they work for hundreds of small organisations.

There is a wide diversity of requirements to build and sustain and develop our unions.

No one organising model fits all. Yet we can all learn from each other. There are inspiring trends and examples that we can all learn from. We want to bring these examples into focus for us all at this event and enable unions to draw out elements of organising that can benefit them. This Conference reflect on cutting edge new approaches to motivating and sustaining active memberships and rooting a union presence into every workplace. It will be a participatory gathering suitable for the involvement of anyone concerned with the health and future impact of our trade unions.

democracy EDUCATION FOR ACTION

Educating Trade Unionists for workplace and social change.

empower

April 2017 – July 2018

equality

social justice

New courses added for 2017-2018

INTRODUCTION

The GFTU Educational Trust is pleased to offer its most extensive programme since our formation in 1971.

We have listened to affiliates and their education officers and acted upon their ideas for improvements, and carefully considered the evaluations of our course participants and reviewed our whole approach. We have also learned from international experiences. What is discussed in trade union education is vital to the health of our country and the 26

How those discussions take place is equally important so we are introducing new courses to assist trade union educators, that is all of us, in delivering more effective learning. As we all recognise a good educator can change our lives for ever. And education is not about the passing on of information alone, it is about inspiration and imagination, instilling commitment and understanding. We are introducing dayschools, and many of these will cover the seriously neglected subject of our history. We offer a free day’s training to every affiliate in addition to this programme and we manage the entire education programme for others. We have improved our pioneering Trade Union Management programme aimed at developing those who want to play a greater role in managing their unions using the latest thinking in leadership and management issues. We offer regular fora for Continuous Professional Development for specialist union officers to swap notes and learn from outside speakers. Following the great success of our inter-union conference for unions in February 2018. Our annual Youth Festival goes from strength to strength and early bookings for both you will see advertised here are recommended. We have commissioned two education activities that can be toured among the unions: Our History, Our Future is a great performance piece of 75 minutes looking at the history of the trade union movement in pictures, summit in 2015 and our union building conference in 2016 we have a major

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world” Nelson Mandela, 2003.

“We want to see the necessary economic knowledge imparted in our labour organisations, so that labour in the future shall not be made the shuttlecock of political parties. Our Trade Unions shall be centres of enlightenment and not merely the meeting place for paying contributions and receiving donations…our ideal is a co operative commonwealth.” Tom Mann and Ben Tillett, The ‘New’ Trade Unionism, 1890.

million workers that work here.

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CONTENTS

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Educational Principles

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Arrangements and How to Sign up for Courses and Events

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video clips and songs, it can be used effectively in trade union education and union events; similarly our Manifesto for Labour Law module can come to where you are, a large workplace, a union conference. No education makes its mark without arts and culture. Following the success of our liberating arts day in 2016 we have organised a grand festival in November 2017 to celebrate and demonstrate how many of our talented cultural workers across the disciplines can assist union building in organising, campaigning and education. We have new partners in Higher Education to strengthen our education offer in the years ahead. Leeds Beckett University, and Newman University Birmingham are at the forefront of our new training the trainers’ offer. We are keen to promote in particular the excellent work of Ruskin and Northern Colleges. We learn from each other, there is no substitute to face to face learning and many participants in our work comment on how much they learned from other trade unionists on their courser or dayschool. We remain committed to this model of delivery, but it is expensive, so…..

We ask you to support our Educational Trust to provide more education in the future by making sure your union and your members use Quorn Grange Hotel and that you order your presents for friends, family and members via our ethical shop. We will also launch this year a new international trade union publishing house and hope you will look out for that and buy our books. This programme will be added to throughout the year. Let’s educate and act together.

Winning in the Workplace

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Equalities at Work and in Society

14

Health and Wellbeing and Safety at Work

17

The Law at Work

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The Media – Getting Heard

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Mentoring Organising

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Pensions

24

Public Speaking Arts and Culture

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Campaigning and Community

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Doug Nicholls, Secretary General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust.

Debunking ‘Economics’

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The European Union Single Market

30

Our National Health Service

30

Parliament, Getting the Best Out of It

31

Professionalism

33

Trade Union Management Development Programme

36

Our Living History Day-schools

John Smith, Chair, GFTU Educational Trust.

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Learning to Create Better Learning Opportunities for Members

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Kurdish Cultural Festival Discussion Webinars Learning about our Unions

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Supporting Specialist Union Officers

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Learning at Ruskin College

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Workers’ Music Association Summer School

50

Learning at Northern College Useful Learning Resources

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www.gftu.org.uk @GFTU1 GFTU ET

Our History, Our Future

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About GFTU Educational Trust Education

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2017-1018 Course Guide

Affiliates

https://ethicalshop.org/our-partners/es-gftu.html

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ARRANGEMENTS AND HOW TO SIGN UP FOR COURSES AND EVENTS

Dates in chronological order, with locations and course duration are summarised at the back of this booklet. Unless otherwise specified, the GFTU Educational Trust, subsidises travel, subsistence and accommodation for attendance at the courses. Attendance, subsistence and travel is usually free to members of affiliated unions proposed by their unions to attend, especially on the Winning in the Workplace Series, but check the particular course arrangements first. Costs for members of non- affiliated unions are specified. For GFTU members staying at Quorn Grange Hotel overnight before or after a day-school the bed and breakfast rate is £60. For members of the public and non-affiliated unions the rate is £107. The GFTU ET reserves the right to alter costing arrangements in exceptional circumstances throughout the year. Some of our education opportunities are externally validated and carry credit points from other academic bodies as specified. All course

participants completing their course will receive a certificate from the GFTU. The absolute deadline for all applications for all courses is 30 days prior to the stated date of the course. Applications must be received on the appropriate form signed by the relevant authorised officer. Application forms are available to download on the GFTU website www.gftu.org.uk and must be returned to daniella@gftu.org.uk , or to Daniella Tedds, Education, GFTU ET, The Lodge, 84 Wood Lane, Quorn, Leicestershire, LE12 8DB 30 days prior to the start date of the course. Courses cannot proceed unless the minimum attendance criterion is achieved. Depending on the nature of the course or event these are a minimum of 8 maximum of 20. Day-schools and festival and special events have higher maxima and most are open to the public. See further details of practical arrangements in the About GFTU Educational Trust Education section. Please refer to that section before applying.

EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES

Following a two year review of education and many discussions amongst affiliates the GFTU Educational Trust has agreed a strategic set of principles that will underpin our education delivery for the coming period. These have been supported by the GFTU Executive Committee and the affiliates’ education officers attending our regular meetings.

Our principles are to:

Provide and develop an understanding of the political and economic context - political economy, labour and capital within which Trade Unions operate; Provide and develop an understanding of the political and economic context which has shaped, and which continues to shape, the historical development of Trade Unions; Provide the skills and knowledge needed to develop confident and informed activists in order to build collective power; Be informed by our commitment to the values of equality, diversity, and inclusion; Be informed by our commitment to social justice, empowering communities, and internationalism. The principles will be applied to all courses and events whatever their subject matter.

www.gftu.org.uk 7

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WINNING IN THE WORKPLACE

WINNER 2016

EA01 Introducing ACAS

1 day

This day event is an ideal introduction for Branch and workplace representatives to the full range of work undertaken by ACAS in all ways. ACAS is a training agency, research organisation and general resource to unions and employers. These roles go alongside its more familiar roles in dispute resolution and arbitration. The GFTU Is delighted that ACAS Officers will be contributing a number of courses this year and be part of others.

Your Hotel, Your union Special diScounted rateS for memberS of affiliated unionS*

Whether for you or your family, your branch or your region, we would love to welcome you to Quorn Grange Hotel. A prestige venue for Trade Unionists to visit for: • Accommodation for reps, officers and visitors. • Conferences, training and meetings. • Restaurant, café, bar and gym.

EA02 Grievance and

Discipline at Work

1 day

Grievance and Disciplinary procedures are much misunderstood by employers and sometimes union members. The authority and content of the ACAS codes are not always appreciated. Using Grievance and Disciplinary procedures well can help a workplace, using them badly can create unnecessary work and ill feeling.

• Flexible spaces to meet your needs. • 9 acres of award winning gardens. • Regular programme events. • Licensed for weddings and civil ceremonies.

EA04 Employment Tribunals 1

There is ample free parking and reliable free wi-fi throughout the Hotel. We are located near to the A6 and A46, only 6 miles from the M1 and M69, and only a short distance from mainline rail stations and international air connections. We have on-site technology kit available to hire, including: digital voting pads, digital cameras and video cameras, public address (P.A.) system, staging and stage lighting. *When booking please quote: GfTUaff / 2017 1

1 day

The role of ACAS in Employment Tribunal applications. This will be a suitable dayschool for all trade unionists who may have to consider references to Tribunal. EA05 Advanced Negotiating Techniques Have you been a negotiator with employers for a while? Stuck in your old tricks? Want to learn some new ones? HR and employers are honing their skills against us all the time, this course will consider a range of techniques and share some experiences to improve ours.

EA03 Advanced Dispute

Resolution Techniques

2 day

This is designed for any union rep or full time official who finds themselves frequently managing disputes in one form or another. Informed by extensive experience within the field this course will take an in depth look at the dynamics of disputes and their resolution.

2 day

for further details call us 01509 412167 or visit www.quorngrangehotel.co.uk 88 Wood lane, Quorn, leicestershire le12 8db

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: @quorngrange

: @quorngrangehotel