UNISON hosts its first young members ’ conference in Cardiff

UNISON hosted its first ever young members’ conference in Cardiff City Hall at the beginning of December. The conference opened with a tangible sense of excitement –º for many delegates, it was their first UNISON conference. UNISON national young members forum chair Jess McGuire welcomed delegates from across the union’s regions and nations, and three of the keynote speakers talked about how they had started their activism in young members organisations: general secretary of Wales TUC Shavanah Taj, UNISON Northern regional secretary Clare Williams and Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party and shadow secretary of state for the future of work.    Ms Rayner assured delegates that there is no better political education than the trade union movement. She said that, as a young member, UNISON gave her a focus for her frustration about all the injustices in society. She said: “You can be different, you can be spicy, you can be an agitator – and in UNISON, people will like you for it rather than reject you.” Introduced by vice chair of the national forum Isla Watson, Ms Taj talked about the strengthening of social partnership agreements in Wales, which could be a model for the whole UK. On a panel with researcher Anna Liddle and winner of the first young Black members award, Funmi Ayeni, Ms Williams told delegates about the project to make sure all members have the best experience of their union. UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards brought a mes...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News young members Source Type: news