THESE are hard times to be upbeat. But in pulling together the programme for Organise 2020, the TUC’s three-day organising festival, I’ve been inspired by examples of trade union successes and struggles from around the globe. That sense of inspiration and optimism has never been more important, because these past few months have been incredibly hard for us all.

In Britain alone, tens of thousands of people have lost their lives to Covid-19. Hundreds of thousands more have suffered ill health. And millions have seen their jobs and livelihoods threatened.

The pandemic shone a light on the fragile state of our public services, battered after a decade of relentless cuts. It exposed how fragile and unfair our labour market is, with the lowest paid and least secure workers hit hardest — and yet depended on most too. And it highlighted other injustices, with racial injustice and inequality meaning the virus has taken a greater toll on Black and minority ethnic communities.

But in the face of all these challenges, unions have demonstrated their value in workplaces and beyond. Thanks to our efforts millions of jobs were secured by the job retention scheme — and millions of workers are safer because of the workplace guidance we helped shape.

Just this week, we have won £1.5 billion to support our arts, culture and heritage sectors, and £2bn for a job guarantee scheme to stop young workers getting caught in long-term unemployment.

We recently had great news that union membership has risen for the third year in a row. Our movement has grown by 200,000 members since 2017. But to keep on winning, we need to keep on recruiting. We need to connect with the next generation of members and activists. And we need to develop new ways of organising our members to keep up with a fast moving digital world.

With more than 30 events, Organise 2020 is central to our efforts to grow our movement. We will debate how to build a bigger, stronger movement that’s more diverse and representative of its members. We will spread the best ideas and success stories, so they can be used more widely. And we will train our base in the skills they need to grow and win.

Some sessions are very practical. You can learn how to use digital to mobilise union activists, how to run a webinar, how to use conference calls to build campaign momentum, how to run an online petition and how to create a culture of innovation.

Others look at how unions are organising on the big challenges we face — tackling the far right, a just transition for workers to a net-zero carbon economy, countering the power of multinationals, and protecting mental health in the face of work intensification.

We’ll hear many success stories. How Australian unions have fought back with digital. How even the mighty Amazon has been defeated by well organised campaigns. How unions win more when we unite our campaigns. And how, with international solidarity, unions can make a difference even in the most dangerous places where being a union leader means risking your life.

A key part of Organise 2020 will be the launch of our Organising Pledge — a commitment made by our General Council and 48 affiliated unions to work together to build stronger unions. We are setting ourselves challenging targets — recruiting more under 30s, running more joint union campaigns, training more reps, and making our movement more diverse — especially at the top.

A stronger movement matters not only to winning fairer workplaces, it’s vital for meaningful political and economic change too. Where unions are weak pay is lower, workplaces less safe, jobs less secure. Stronger unions are the key to reducing economic disadvantage and social inequality — and to giving working people a genuine political voice.

So please join us. And let all your social media friends know now about #Organise2020 too. Take part in the debate over the three days. Enjoy the music and poetry on Thursday night. Learn some new skills and make new friends. Help us build for Tolpuddle next week and our Congress in September. Celebrate with us the work of our unions and the positive difference we make in workplaces across the country, day in, day out.

And above all — help us shape the ideas and actions that will allow us to build a bigger, better trade union movement.

Paul Nowak has been deputy general secretary of the TUC since 2016.

Read the Organise 202 programme online at www.tuc.org.uk/sign-organise-2020-events.