CONSERVATIVE ministers must reinstate financial support for unions to provide training and education, retail workers demanded today, stressing that “knowledge is power.”

Delegates at Usdaw’s annual conference in Blackpool overwhelmingly supported a motion calling for the return of the Union Learning Fund, which was “disgracefully” abolished in England by Boris Johnson’s administration last year.

The scheme, which was introduced in 1998 by the then New Labour government, helped hundreds of thousands of people in more than 700 workplaces before it was axed, according to the TUC.

The initiative, overseen by the union confederation and largely backed by employers, offered workplace access to literacy, language and maths classes as well as technology skills, apprenticeships and professional development.

It provided a vital lifeline to adults who had struggled at school, south-east London delegate Bridgette Findlay pointed out.

She said: “We’re all aware of the popular saying ‘knowledge is power.’ Learning is a way of achieving that power. 

“Let’s [give] others the joy of education and help the country in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Fellow member Terence Monksfield said that the fund’s £12 million cost was a “drop in the ocean compared to the millions and millions wasted” by Tory ministers on inadequate personal protective equipment during the health crisis.

It is “completely unacceptable” that workers in England are now missing out on support that is still available to their colleagues across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Usdaw deputy general secretary Dave McCrossen said. 

“The union movement is perfectly placed to help deliver this fantastic training, which will ensure members are given the right opportunities and support to protect them in the workplace,” he added.

The government claims that the scheme will be replaced by direct investment in further education colleges and other training providers.