- Conference
- 2024 National Delegate Conference
- Date
- 19 February 2024
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Learning is fundamentally central to supporting our activists and ensuring that they receive the best training and support; learning is also vital for our members to develop personally and professionally; and learning is key to supporting wider growth and productivity through ongoing training or developing new skills.
Conference recognises that learning is central not only to building our activist base but it is key in building participation amongst our members and potential members in organising campaigns and in widening participation.
Conference also recognises that unions are integral to ensuring that any future government policy on providing future skills, such as Artificial Intelligence and green skills, to promote growth and productivity, is accessible to all workers.
Whilst employees (with some qualifying factors) have a statutory right to ask for paid time off work for training or study, this alone does not help the skills agenda. However, where we have learning agreements with employers, we have been able to provide a framework to utilise this right and support staff to undertake paid time off for training.
In addition, the East Midlands region have seen success in engaging with employers through promoting learning charters. A learning charter is a signed commitment to supporting staff learning and development through working with Union Learning Reps (ULRs). Where there is no learning agreement with an employer, a learning charter may act as the first step and be a useful tool to engage with employers on a local level.
Union Learning Reps (ULRs) play a vital role in developing learning in our workplaces, supporting individuals, and providing wider growth through skills and development. They are activists that are entitled to statutory paid time off to undertake this role and relevant training. The role includes:
1)Promoting the value of learning with employers and members;
2)Linking relevant learning to organising and bargaining campaigns
3)Arranging learning and training;
4)Supporting learners, mentoring and following up after training;
5)Supporting workplaces in ensuring employees have the right skills;
6)Widening and increasing participation.
In embedding learning in the workplace, learning agreements and learning charters can be a valuable tool for ULRs in engaging employers.
Conference notes the need for a renewed focus on ULRs as a key activist role in organising and branch activity.
Conference calls upon the National Executive Council to:
a)Refresh and develop learning resources and guidance on learning agreements and learning charters;
b)Track and review where we have current learning agreements with major employers and seek to revitalise their use;
c)Maximise the bargaining and organising potential in existing learning agreements, by working with service groups, Learning and Organising Services and regional learning leads;
d)Provide guidance and support on developing learning agreements or developing learning charters with employers where there is no recognition or where it can outline a local application of a national agreement;
e)Encourage branches and ULRs to support members to request paid time off for training, both collectively and individually;
f)Promote the role of ULRs and their active involvement in organising campaigns and branch activity;
g)Encourage learning to be a standing item on branch meeting agendas.