Organising to Win
The Organising and Recruitment Strategy Development project was commissioned by the General Secretariat in autumn 2021 to meet the changing demands of the union. Delegates at UNISON’s 2022 National Delegate Conference 2022 recognised these changing demands when debating the motion “Building the union organising for our future”. This motion called upon the union to develop a joined up national organising strategy with a clear vision for a stronger UNISON and a resourced plan to build workplace organisation, grow our activist base especially elected workplace representatives, increase member participation, and achieve sustainable membership growth.
Membership trends have fluctuated in recent years; huge joiner surges during the the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in net growth in 2020, followed by net membership decline in 2021. However, as confident pay campaigns gathered momentum in the latter half of 2022, membership grew.
The national 2023 ‘Organising to Win’ plan aims to ensure adequate planning and resourcing of organising priorities to consolidate and sustain membership growth and to urgently begin to expand the workplace activist base.
This plan will draw together existing national organising commitments and priorities. The objectives will be:
- 1% net membership growth
- 10% increase in activist recruitment
- Activist training objectives as set out in the NEC scheme of accreditation
Full details for the 2023 ‘Organising to Win’ plan have been developed as part of the Organising Recruitment Strategy Development (ORSD) project.
Organising Recruitment Strategy Development Project
The Organising Recruitment Strategy Development (ORSD) project will deliver recommendations for a comprehensive unionwide organising strategy by mid-2023.
An officer project board has been working with the lay members on the NEC Development & Organisation Committee to consider sectoral and workforce trends, organising tools, techniques and best practice, and the internal resource and coordination required to deliver successful organising outcomes to scale.
The work of ORSD has been informed by unionwide engagement, evaluation of a series of organising pilots, and research by academic partners from the University of Sheffield Centre for Decent Work.
The project board is currently engaged in a further round of consultation with regions, service groups and national self-organised groups before finalising recommendations for a bigger, stronger, and more powerful UNISON. A full report will be presented to National Delegate Conference 2023.
UNISON Migrant Worker Network
Migrant workers will experience the same issues as other workers but also face the intersecting challenges of government legislation and policies which make them more vulnerable in the workplace and in wider UK society
To ensure advice, support and solidarity for UNISON migrant worker members, branches can promote the following two initiatives:
- Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) Advice Line
UNISON Migrant Worker Members can access expert migrant rights advice and support for themselves and their families via a UNISON funded partnership with the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). Members can access the advice service via UNISONdirect (Tel: 0800 0 857 857) who can then arrange an appointment for the member with a JCWI advisor.
- UNISON Migrant Worker Network
The UNISON Migrant Worker Network is a new, informal network of UNISON members with a first-generation immigrant background including overseas and migrant workers, EU settled status workers and workers who have subsequently naturalised as British citizens or who have indefinite leave to remain. Members can now identify and update their membership record as a migrant worker using the following link, which will enable UNISON to target advice, support and information more effectively. UNISON Migrant Worker Network
Please do not sign up to the network unless you are a migrant worker member as to do so would make a false update to your member record. Branches will be kept informed of events, support, activity, and resources relating to migrant worker organising. Branches with questions relating to migrant worker support and organising should speak to their regional migrant worker lead or contact the Strategic Organising Unit at s.organisingunit@unison.co.uk