- Conference
- 2018 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 17 January 2018
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference believes that the strength and sustainability of UNISON depends on the recruitment and organisation of young workers, and their development as activists and leaders.
Conference notes, however, that while UNISON has had some measure of success in recruiting young workers, their numbers have remained at around 5% of the membership, and less than 2% of our activists.
Conference notes that in the wider trade union movement, in 2016 workers under the age of 25 made up 14% of the workforce, but only 4.7% were members of trade unions.
Conference believes that a step-change is required in our recruitment and organisation of young workers, with the appropriate resources devoted to that aim.
Conference welcomes the National Young Members Forum having taken leadership on this matter, and endorses their call for 2019 to be designated as ‘The Year of Young Workers’.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to:
1)Set a target of a 5% increase in young membership and young member activists by conference 2019, and a further 5% in young membership and young member activists by conference 2020, and allocate the resources required to meet this aim;
2)Seek to work with the National Young Members Forum to devise and deliver a plan of action for the whole of 2019 – the Year of Young Workers – in promoting this idea throughout the labour movement;
3)Publish in its annual report, young members recruitment figures and young activist numbers, to allow for year-on-year comparisons.