BRITAIN’S newest organisation committed to promoting trade unionism to young people met for the first time on Wednesday to discuss how to begin rolling out a nationwide campaign to engage, recruit and retain new members within trade unions.

Meeting in Newcastle just a few days after TUC Congress drew to a close and a few days before Labour Party conference was due to start in Brighton, the initial working group of Trade Unionists of Tomorrow came together to take matters into their own hands and work to fill a gap that they believe the movement has left vacant for too long.

This collection of young, grassroots trade unionists and activists, representing a wide range of both regions and industries, agreed a simple mission statement:

“With the deterioration of pay and working conditions for young people continuing to accelerate, the need for their involvement in a strong trade union movement has never been greater — but the unions of today and of the future can only ever be as strong as their membership. With this in mind, Trade Unionists of Tomorrow aims to preserve the future of trade unions by providing a robust education to young people and conducting research to determine how best to engage with and encourage activism amongst the young workforce.”

With precarious work skyrocketing, wages stagnating and increasing pay inequality fast becoming the norm; alongside increased reports of bullying and harassment in the workplace and work-related stress and anxiety massively on the up, an organisation that will solely focus of strengthening the trade union movement through young people could not have come sooner.

There were six Acts of Parliament passed between 1980-1993 which increasingly restricted the unions ability to undertake lawful industrial action. “Sympathy strikes” were outlawed, picketing was restricted and ballots were needed from 1984. Thatcher succeeded in her mission to weaken the unions and crush workers, and it is those entering the world of work today who bear the brunt of her brutal anti-union regime.

While many centrists still promote this poisonous ideology, and applaud individualistic destruction masquerading as personal liberty, there are those on the right who will continue to actively encourage it. It’s high time we moved away from the courtroom and returned to the negotiating table, rediscovering our collective voice and reasserting values of solidarity and compassion within our workplaces and communities.

Trade Unionists of Tomorrow founder, James Matthewson shared his views following the meeting.

“It’s been inspiring to see TUOT taken from an initial idea I’ve considered over the past few years to seeing today’s meeting come to fruition and hearing so many fantastic ideas being shared and discussed amongst a group of committed and passionate trade unionists.”

With little to no trade union education in schools and a now huge generational gap in awareness of what trade unions even are, let alone what they can do and what they’ve historically achieved — we simply cannot afford to sit around debating ways to combat declining memberships anymore, we need to get out and do something about it, and the Trade Unionists of Tomorrow are determined to do just that.

If you would like to get involved please contact: [email protected], working group of Trade Unionists of Tomorrow.