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The £3.5 billion tax relief on training paid to employers, should come with strings attached, Tom Wilson, director of unionlearn, says in a paper, released at TUC Congress.
The Future for Union Learning, published by Unions21, says that employers should have to prove that they are raising the skills and improving the qualifications of their workforce. And it should be mandatory for them to publish details of their investment in training in their Annual Reports. Mr Wilson also calls for individuals to be able to claim tax relief on the training they have funded themselves.
The paper explains why learning is, and always will be, the business of unions. Mr Wilson says: “Fighting poverty, low pay, unfairness and inequality at work are the foundations of trade unionism, whether by confronting employers or by campaigning for a fairer society. But it is not enough to just tackle the symptoms. In today’s UK there is one fundamental cause of unequal life chances which stands out above all others: education.”
The paper explains the history of education and the trade union movement and recalls that the very first trade union banners gave equal prominence to the three words: Educate, Agitate, Organise (but put the word educate first).
The trade union movement faces the toughest time for decades as it prepares to fight the cuts to jobs and public services. But unionlearn can provide another lever for its members, by negotiating to upgrade their skills and give them the training to increase their employability and provide a passport to a better life.
If the UK is to improve its ranking in the international league table for skills, employers will need union learning reps (ULRs) to act as powerful intermediaries to introduce their colleagues to the right type of training. They can negotiate learning agreements to make learning and training an integral part of the workplace.
At this summer’s unionlearn annual conference ministers acknowledged the importance of unions in workplace learning. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, described unionlearn as a “good story”. He said that he envisaged it playing an even greater role in improving the skills of the workforce, in adult education and apprenticeships. John Hayes, the minister for further education, skills and lifelong learning said: “Unionlearn has an essential role to play in ensuring that workplace learning is delivered to a high standard and that people know where they can go to get good quality learning.”
Tom Wilson’s paper proposes a comprehensive union skills programme in which:
• The current £3.5 billion tax relief for employers is contingent on raising levels of participation and accreditation.
• There is tax relief for individuals who pay for learning, eg to cover the cost of course fees, up to a ceiling of the basic rate of tax.
• The lever of government procurement is used to apply to good practice in learning, for example requiring contractors to employ a proportion of apprentices.
• There is an entitlement to Level 2 for all.
• A requirement of employers to publish details of their training investment in Annual Reports is mandatory.
• There is the development of skills/learning accounts with subsidised loans and equal support for part-time learners.
The paper concludes that strategies for union growth and revitalisation must include union learning. It is popular with members and potential members and can help build stronger (not more subservient) relations with employers. It also states that government funding is crucial, has been hard won, and is entirely legitimate as a recognition of unions’ role in civil society, the economy and workplace
Tom Wilson said: “It is right that unions are promoting learning as a means to creating a fairer society. It is right that the TUC is fighting for the ten million people who received no training in the past year. Learning is humanising; it helps reasserts human values above material values, the value of thinking, listening and working together. It is the key to well-being and happiness.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
In the past 12 years, unionlearn has trained more than 25,000 ULRs.
In 2009/10 almost 250,000 working people were involved in a learning opportunity delivered through their union, and supported by unionlearn. Of these, 5,000 were enrolled in degree level courses, 22,000 enrolled on Level 3, 40,000 on level 2, more than 35,000 were engaged in a Continuing Professional Development programme and thousands more engaged in a wide range of other less formal (but often equally valuable) learning.
A survey of ULRs discovered that three-quarters of reps have helped arrange courses for their colleagues and almost half have obtained funding for learning. Almost two-thirds of managers reported that ULR activity had increased the provision of basic literacy and numeracy skills and a majority agreed that there had been increases in job-related training and courses leading to qualifications. More details can be found at https://www.unionlearn.org.uk/ideas/index.cfm?frmPubID=177
More than half of employers (55 per cent) say that their employees have improved their qualifications, thanks to union-led projects. As a result, nine out of ten say they will continue to be involved in union learning activities in the workplace. Two-thirds said there had been a benefit to the organisation and eight in ten said there had been a benefit to individuals. “Assessing the impact of union learning and the Union Learning Fund: union and employer perspectives” can be read in full at https://lubswww2.leeds.ac.uk/CERIC/index.php?id=373
The full report can be downloaded at www.unions21.org.uk/download/158
All unionlearn press releases can be found at www.unionlearn.org.uk
Media enquiries:
Frances Rafferty T: 020 7079 6950 M: 07827 813439 E: frafferty@tuc.org.uk
James Asser T: 020 7079 6942 M: 07769 706104 E: jasser@tuc.org.uk
