EC Meeting March 2017

10 A number of dominant themes have underpinned the GFTU’s work: the need to re engage young workers with the trade union movement, the need to create a modern trade union education curriculum and ways of learning, the need to preserve labour movement history and to re-invigorate trade union campaigning, organising and education with arts and culture. 11 Providing the best facilities we can at Quorn Grange for affiliates’ in conference or training or relaxation is an important part of our work and we remind all affiliates that our discounts at the hotel are all available at discount to all members. 12 We play a vital role in assisting new unions in forming and growing and we play a role too in helping experienced unions out when there are difficulties. There is no question to big or small that we cannot be asked to consider, the GFTU is extremely keen to help out at any level. 13 Specialist officers in unions and General Secretaries themselves need all the support they can get and we are pleased that our informal forums for these groups have proved beneficial. 14 In order to develop deeper thinking about the future and organisation of trade union education we have provided a forum for education officers and those interested in transforming the curriculum 15 Our trade union management development programme and work with universities and the Institute of Leadership and Management has strengthened our capacity to make unions better managed organisations with better managers in them. 16 We strongly believe in national collective bargaining and in the professionally organised workplace with sound relationships between employers and organised unions. We have welcomed working with ACAS more closely this year to assist the development of the modern workplace. 17 We believe that unions deserve the best professional advice on everything from investments to ICT and have spent time making arrangements with companies keen to bring high level professional expertise to bear economically on the development of our Movement. 18 The world of work for too many is a terrible place. The hard end of victimisation at work, zero hours contracts, redundancy, factory and service closures are nothing new to us and we have intervened and lent a hand where requested in some very difficult circumstances. We put the difficulties we see in a context and campaign for policy changes also. We consistently lend our support to trade unionists overseas and worthy causes. 19 We have established some new and important traditions. Our TUC social is now the biggest and best at Congress and we find a great way there of mixing some business with a lot of camaraderie and pleasure. Our Next Generation Festival is an established

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