Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed Chancellor John Healey's announcement at Labour's annual conference in Liverpool that a renewed Union Learning Fund will be brought back in England, five years after the Conservatives scrapped it.
Union learning continued to be funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland after the Tory government cut the fund in England in 2021. Usdaw has long campaigned for its restoration and wants a modern, fully funded scheme that delivers high-quality education and skills, supports productivity and lifelong learning, and develops confident workplace representatives.
Thomas: 'By providing education to workers, we can win for workers'
Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas said union learning reps reach workers others cannot.
"Trade unions have always played a key role in educating members, improving their confidence and allowing them to progress in all areas of their lives. Helping members to gain essential skills in English, Maths and ICT, to build their careers through courses on CV writing and interview skills. Trade union learning reps reach the workers others cannot, often bringing members back into education for the first time since leaving school.
"When the Tory Government made the shameful decision to scrap the fund for England, many of the employers that Usdaw works with publicly lobbied the Government to change the decision.
"So, we very much welcome the Chancellor's announcement to reverse that decision, which is long overdue. We now look forward to working with the Government on the reintroduction of union-led lifelong learning in England and the renewal of the trade union studies element of adult education. By providing education to workers, we can win for workers."
Call for an industrial strategy for retail
Later the same day, Usdaw deputy general secretary Rab Donnelly moved a motion calling on the Government to rebuild the economy for working people through an industrial strategy for retail. The union wants business rates reform to level the playing field between online and bricks-and-mortar retailers, action on energy costs, and a skills plan for the sector developed with retail workers through their unions.
"Retail is the biggest private sector employer in the country; there are nearly three million retail workers across the UK. Serving their communities, at the heart of our high streets, doing essential work every day.
"We know that this Labour Government values retail work and retail workers. We've seen that through their action to tackle retail crime. But beyond this, the role of retail in our economy needs to be properly recognised in our industrial strategy. Retail is infrastructure, not an afterthought."
Donnelly said one of the motion's calls had already been met by the Chancellor's promise to bring back the Union Learning Fund, adding: "Now they must go further to create a real industrial strategy for retail."
