Yesterday I had the very real pleasure to be part of a celebration event for UNISON members in the East Midlands. At a hotel in Nottingham around 70 of our members came together to celebrate their achievements in returning to learning. They had completed courses ranging from basic education through to shop stewards training. I had the honour of being asked to present the certificates and to say a few words to the gathering.
These learners, the vast majority who were women,from a very wide age range, had overcome the very difficult first step of going back into a learning environment, often for the first time in many years, and often having been told that they would never succeed academically. The look of pure joy on the faces of these learners was just the most amazingly uplifting experience I have had for some considerable time.
The confidence that was palpable amongst these learners was something that had been significantly developed during the various courses that people had succeeded in. I couldn't help remembering how I myself had gone rough a similar experience and had been the beneficiary of excellent trade union education. If the experience of these learners is similar to mine then they will feel more able to not just go on to further learning, having broken down that particular taboo, but they will also feel more confident to take a more active role in our union and to help us to organise for more power in the workplace for our members.
I am such a fan of the role that unions play through learning and trade union education to empower workers to organise for power in their workplaces and to seize back the initiative from those in society who seem intent on waging a war against working people. We must now work to make sure that the courses we provide are fully tailored to the realities of people's working lives as well as how we intend to go forward with our organising strategies.
Education really is power!
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