Unite Lifelong Learning is solid with the March for Jobs
It’s Saturday and we wish the sun was shining.
Thousands of Unite members and supporters are on the streets in
Birmingham. The bands are here, the flags are here, the spirit is
here – and so are the union learning reps and learning
organisers.
The message that people up and down the
country need all kinds of support these days to either get or keep
a job is not new to those in the union working in lifelong
learning. It is taken as a given that people need to develop their
own skills and qualifications to get into or to stay in the
employment market.
ULRs and Los have seen the link between
learning and jobs for years. It is what we do. It is the main
reason we are here today taking part in the Unite March for
Jobs.
Jason Beckett, who works on the bins for
Oldham Council, is one of these souls getting up early on his day
off and braving the British spring weather. He could have been at
home with his young son or playing his blues guitar in the dry. I
asked him why he got active as a ULR. He said to me “It is strange,
I was really turned off by formal education at school. Now I have
nearly finished my Cert Ed and hope to teach with the union. I came
on the March to show solidarity, to be part of the bigger
picture.”
I also met up with Gerrard
Stevens down from Yorkshire. Gerrard has been made
redundant
. He
knows what it is like to go down this route. He left his wife and 3
daughters back at home to be here today. Gerrard said to me “I am
here because I want to safeguard jobs for others. I know what it is
like; I have to do something to stop others facing the same thing.
I got active because of this. When I was made redundant I spoke to
Dave & Sarah the Unite RLOs. They helped me gain new skills for
the workplace instead of just sitting in front of the computer
playing games – now I want to give some thing back to the
union.”
On the way back from the March, I bumped into
Diane Green. She told me “I am a Unite member from North Wales, a
teacher and on the Exec of the Labour Party.” I asked her why she
had come today – surely she had enough to do with all the
activities in her life. She continued “In North Wales, all too
often, we have seen high levels of unemployment. We have to do what
we can – here and now - to stop it happening again; working in both
Unite and through the Labour Party. Without a skilled workforce,
jobs will leach away to other parts of Europe and the world.
Obviously as a teacher I believe education is the key to unlocking
the skills potential of the UK workforce. I am here with all these
other people from Unite to demand that support is given here and
now to grow skilled, long term, proper UK jobs and to grow the
skills in the workforce to fill them.”
It has been a fun day and interesting despite
the wet weather at times. It has been an uplifting day meeting so
many people from so many different backgrounds all demanding the
same thing. To echo Diane’s words – we march to get support for
jobs and support for the skills to fill them
.
