In his May Day message for the Morning Star, RICHARD BURGON says the call for peace, equality and socialism has never been more relevant
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Education for the whole movement
by Gawain Little, General Secretary, GFTU
This May Day we reaffirm our commitment to working people and our class and to get trade unionism back on the front foot, says EDDIE DEMPSEY
DIANE ABBOTT looks at the whys and hows of Labour’s spectacular own goal
When it comes to extreme weather events, from wildfires to flash floods, it’s firefighters who are on the front line of defence, but services have been cut to the bone, and government is not taking seriously its responsibility for the environment, says STEVE WRIGHT
LUKE FLETCHER pours scorn on Labour’s betrayal of the Welsh steel industry, where the option of nationalisation was sneered at and dismissed – unlike at Scunthorpe where the government stepped in
Washington’s tariff policies become explicable in light of the US economy’s relative decline and the astonishing rise of China, argues MICHAEL BURKE
SOLOMON HUGHES highlights a 1995 Sunday Times story about the disappearance of ‘defecting Iraqi nuclear scientist.’ Even though the story was debunked, it was widely repeated across the mainstream press, creating the false – and deadly – narrative of Iraqi WMD that eventually led to war
For over 125 years, our clear aims have been the promotion of solidarity, unity in action and education. That is why today we have launched the General Federation of Trade Unions Educational Trust (GFTUET) Education Fund. This fund represents a huge opportunity for the whole trade union movement to access our education programme.
For an annual donation, trade union branches and regions from non-GFTU affiliated unions will be able to access our online and residential education courses, supporting the expansion of our programme.
Over the last two years, our educational offer has grown with a mixture of online, residential, and hybrid delivery. We are not just interested in the growth of our programme but also the breadth of subjects and topics we aim to cover. In the past year, we have introduced a range of new courses, including a ‘Bargaining and Organising for Neurodiversity’ (Residential) and the ‘Strategy Series’ (Online).
These courses aim to both equip trade union reps and branch activists, as well as provide a space for the development of strategy, helping us face the issues of the day. Our commitment to education comes from a belief that trade union renewal relies on providing the opportunity for activists to develop and deepen their leadership skills further.
It is through this harnessing of activist energies, especially the incredible strike wave of recent years, that we can build a foundation to reverse the decline in membership of the trade union movement. This will also help build the power of the working class more generally.
We hope this new fund will become a ‘beacon’ for the investment in a new generation of trade union activists, whilst enriching the development of workplace reps today.
How the fund works is simple. For a recommended donation, based on membership size, each trade union branch/region will get access to a certain number of places on our courses, as determined by our fair usage policy.
We hope this fund will grow as our movement recommits to activist education, utilising coaching, mentoring, and developing leadership at every level of our movement. It is our intention over the next few months to widen access to our fund further to include local Trade Union Councils (TUCs).
The adage ‘educate, agitate, organise’ is more than a slogan on a banner for us. Education is a fundamental part of our identity and our driving purpose within the wider trade union movement.
To find out more and to join the education fund, go to our website here: www.gftuet.org.uk/educationfund
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