DAY three, our final day of GFTU’s Summer School, started with organising conversations. Led by Gawain Little, participants worked in groups of three to practise conversations about how to respond to the concerns of people who might be receptive to the arguments of the far right.

Through these structured organising conversations, groups learnt vital skills in how to speak to different types of people and move them to collective action and reassigning blame for their grievances.

Session two of the day was a role-play activity based on The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists. The “Great Money Trick” game guides groups through how our economy works. Using knives (tools) and plates (factories), participants are asked to cut bread (raw materials) into equal parts.

The factory boss, a capitalist played by Gawain, provides one coin for each successful bread cut, punishing those who are not playing the game and encouraging those who are to spy on their colleagues in return for increased pay.

When factories begin to organise or to withdraw labour, they are shut down, moving production to other groups and increasing their productivity targets.

The groups used a variety of tactics across the activity, including strike action, sabotage and even stealing the means of production. The game concludes with a discussion about the nature of our capitalist economy and the social relations that underpin it.

This learning reaffirmed the political economy we have focused on throughout the three days and the need for an alternative economic strategy across the movement.

The final session of the day was led by Fraser McGuire, a Unite hospitality organiser. Fraser focused on the effective use of social media as a tactic for the workers’ movement. Emphasising that this cannot replace organising or one-to-one conversations, participants wrote, planned and made social media content, including videos, pictures and other media.

Throughout the session, we discussed what content resonates with groups of people we do not always reach as a movement, and how the far right utilises “organic” content created by ordinary people on a range of topics, building profiles before politicising layers of society.

It is in this context that not only the professional social media and digital engagement strategies used by much of the movement through communications teams, but also grassroots content created by trade union members talking about everyday issues, becomes an important part of what we do.

After the photo and video work, we celebrated the end of this year’s Summer School by presenting certificates to everyone. They marked our collective commitment to take the confidence, skills and learning gained during Summer School into our workplace organising and the rebuilding of our movement’s power.

Over the last three days, we have explored a range of both theoretical and practical issues in the tradition of collective, worker-led education. We are committed to radical, independent trade union education that emphasises political economy, the history and culture of our struggles, and the organising and campaigning skills we need.

The latest GFTU Education Trust education programme launched last Saturday at the Durham Miners’ Gala. We have over 90 courses, both online and in person at Quorn Grange Hotel, including our Strategy Series with Angela Davis. Book your place here: gftuet.org.uk/education.