Organising and Recruitment
Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s trade union membership was in decline. A hostile government, coupled with profound changes in the world of work, meant that trade unions struggled to recruit and retain new members - and struggled, too, to represent their existing members effectively.
However, there are now clear signs that unions are on their way back. Our membership is steady after almost twenty years of continuous decline, and there is increasing evidence that trade unions are once again expanding their influence in the world of work and beyond.
Central to our task of rebuilding the trade union movement is the need to put organising at the heart of everything that we do. Organising is not always easy, but it is vital if we are to rebuild membership, and to speak with authority on behalf of working people and their families.
These TUC organising and recruitment web pages are designed to help unions mounting organising and recruitment campaigns by providing the latest information, guidance, resources and training opportunities.
The
Organising Academy training programme, supported by Newcastle College, is aimed
at helping unions who are organising for growth. Our courses provide organising
related training for new and experienced organisers; union officers involved
in wider union activity and lay reps and officials. All courses are accredited
by the Open College Network and are delivered free of charge. To find out more
about the Organising Academy and full details of our training programme click
on the Organising Academy logo.
The TUC Activist Academy is an exciting new initiative aimed at increasing the involvement of union reps in organising campaigns and assisting them in building stronger workplace unions by:
- Recruiting new members
- Finding new activists
- Running issue based campaigns
Participants on the Activist Academy will attend specially designed training linked to organising, recruitment and campaigning activity based around the workplace and the wider community. For further information click on the Activist Academy logo.
The most recent documents available on this subject are:
Wales TUC seminar: 2010 Update for Union Reps - 23rd March
This free one-day seminar will give reps in Wales an opportunity to receive essential updates on key issues for 2010, including:
• The new Bargaining to Organise campaign (Bargaining to Organise 2)
• Dispute Resolution – new ACAS Code of Practice
• Negotiating facilities time
• Update on online resources and research
8 February 2010
Northern TUC Annual Awards 2010
The Northern TUC union rep awards are an annual recognition of that contribution and a chance to highlight this invaluable difference that reps make to people at work every day. Nominations are now open for the Northern TUC Annual Reps.
12 January 2010
The Union Advantage
Representing over a quarter of the UK's workforce, unions are the only workplace organisations able to present a cohesive voice on the concerns of working people and their families. This report sets out the scale of the ‘union advantage' – the positive benefits that unions bring to individual workers; the organisations that employ them; and the broader community.
9 December 2009
TUC and Ruskin College go into partnership
The TUC has signed an agreement signalling closer working between its Organising Academy and Oxford-based Ruskin College.
Since 1899 Ruskin College has been making university level education accessible to the working classes and this agreement will see it putting on a number of courses for recruits to the 2010 Academy.
7 December 2009
New Charter aims to strengthen ties between volunteers and staff
The TUC and Volunteering England have today (Monday) signed a Volunteers' Charter to strengthen ties between paid staff and volunteers.
7 December 2009
The value of unions to workers and their employers
With the recession putting pressure on Britain's workers, the TUC has today (Thursday) published new materials to help unions attract new recruits and demonstrate the value of unions to employers.
3 December 2009
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