‘Once in a generation opportunity to put younger workers at the heart of our union’

Delegates at UNISON’s health conference today welcomed moves to better recruit, represent and include young members. As Shipha Begum of the Young Members Forum (above) told the conference: “We’re not the future of the union – we’re right here, right now, getting active, getting organised and building the union. “And we want to make sure that all our colleagues in the NHS and across the health sector are right beside us.” The TUC has highlighted the fact that less than 8% of workers aged 16-24 are in a union, while almost 40% of union members are aged 50 or over. Like the TUC, UNISON has declared 2019 the year of young workers, prioritising the recruitment and organising of young workers as “a moral imperative”. In Bournemouth, delegates sought build on that initiative. Of the 63,000 young members in UNISON, nearly half are employed in the health sector. Ms Begum said that the aim was to ensure the union is “relevant, important and central” to the working lives of those thousands of young people providing health services. “We want young workers to understand that the skills and learning that come from being active in a union can be life-changing – not just within a trade union but in work and in life,” she said. “Trade union education and activity can build confidence and give people skills that they can use in their professional and personal lives.” Introducing a debate on a motion which brought together various parts of the union, she added: ...
Source: UNISON meat hygiene - Category: Food Science Authors: Tags: Article News 2019 Health Conference health care Year of Young Workers young members Source Type: news