Assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions HENRY FOWLER reports on day 1 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at Quorn Grange Hotel
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Breaking down barriers – Usdaw launches its Black Members Development Programme
Usdaw general secretary PADDY LILLIS introduces a new initiative to improve the representation of black members and make sure the union properly reflects its wider membership
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IT GAVE me very great pleasure this week, at the Usdaw annual delegate meeting in Blackpool’s Winter Gardens, to be able to announce that applications for our new Black Members Development Programme are now officially open.
This is a new start for a continuing and hugely significant journey for our union, as we seek to overcome the under-representation of black members in our movement.
Like most other unions, black members in Usdaw are under-represented in union roles and at union events. Around 17 per cent of our members are black and they are not always as visible or as rooted in our structures as they could be.
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