Quick to respond at Bemrose Booth
When Derby print company Bemrose Booth recently went into receivership, leaving employees without pay, Unite the union was quick to offer support for those affected.
Working with partner organisations, the union ran an “Open Day” for members at their local office to give advice on benefits and careers.
With the support of the Union Learning Fund supported Skills Recession & Recovery Project and U-net (the network of union learning centres) Unite set up an emergency learning centre at its Derby office, with laptops supplied by unionlearn, to enable the union to offer rapid response to members in the East Midlands.
Leading on from a series of open days, over 40 members were given advice on benefits, pensions and courses on offer.
Unite ran Literacy and numeracy courses with all learners getting an up to date qualification, and an ICT course to help members brush up on IT skills which would prove useful in CV writing and job applications.
According to Lakhy Mahal, Unite Learning Organiser, the centre and the service offered by the Union “is part and parcel of what the union is all about, offering support to all and especially to those who need it the most, in this case members who lost their jobs abruptly. . . Only unions can give this personalised support because they know the members and understand what they are going through and because in many cases we have been there ourselves”.
Dave Jeffery, Unite’s Education Organiser, says “This work demonstrates how Unite’s Learning Organisers can give practical support when people have lost their jobs; by doing it with them rather than to them. It clearly demonstrates the strength of the regional partnership that made this happen with the Regional Officers, Learning Organisers and Education Department working together. And, of course, we could not have done it without the support of unionlearn.”
The learners themselves have also welcomed the courses provided and the support they’ve received: “The support from the union has been brilliant in setting up these courses and any help is appreciated in this climate”.
Others have noted that “This is a great way to brush up on IT, Maths and English whilst keeping in touch with your colleagues, meeting up before the course starts, catching up and sharing information about jobs!”
One learner has said that “Anything that will help you get a job has got to be a bonus” while another described the course as “Just great! I am on this IT course and have also signed up for a local numeracy course at Level 2, after getting my level 1 with the union”.
The excellent service offered by the union shows union learning at it most powerful and effective - offering not only qualifications to members but the social aspects and invaluable union support that membership offers throughout a persons’ life.
