Skills improvement benefits employers and unions

When unions and employers work in partnership to improve workers' skills, both reap benefits: unions gain new members and activists, and employers improve staff retention rates and have better industrial relations, two new academic reports have revealed.

The research reports, authored by industrial relations experts and published by unionlearn (the TUC's education and skills organisation) show strong links between promoting union-led workplace learning, trade union organising, and direct benefits to employers, workers and their unions. The reports: Union Learning, Union Recruitment and Organising and Organising to Learn and Learning to Organise will be launched at 10.30am by Billy Hayes, General Secretary of the post workers' union, CWU and Chair of the unionlearn Board, and Frances O'Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary.

The case studies reveal that engagement with the learning agenda has benefited unions, their members and employers. More women and ethnic minorities have been attracted in to union activity including as union learning reps. Where management has been actively engaged, they have reaped the benefits of improved retention rates, being perceived of as a better employer, and improved industrial relations.

Union members and workers have benefited from increased confidence, better skills, and increased job mobility. And they also see unions in a better light for providing them with learning opportunities, which has in turn resulted in increased commitment to union involvement. Many become union learning reps and often progress to hold other union positions. There is a strong indication that this learning agenda is creating more positive perceptions of unions among both workers generally and existing members.

Frances O'Grady, TUC Deputy General Secretary said:

'Union-led learning is strengthening workplace cohesion, building union organisation, and changing individuals' lives. This important new research underlines what we at unionlearn have known for a while, that providing learning opportunities helps people get on at work. This research also shows how unions and employers benefit as well.'

The new research show how learning officers endorse the role of unionlearn in promoting the links between union learning and organisation, and in helping to make union learning a core trade union activity.

These two reports are the first in a newly-established series of publications by unionlearn. The research highlights, through case studies, the key role that unions play in offering access to education in the workplace to those who have traditionally lost out. It concludes that unions can have a positive effect on the organisation of learning and that, just as importantly, this learning can have a positive effect on trade union organisation.

Members of the Work Place Learning Centre team are available to provide journalists and media organisations with expert comment on all aspects of learning at work.

View our editorial policy click here.