Following upon the conference and the sharp exchanges about the significance of the trade unions it is heartening to observe a rare moment of agreement between CYWU[UNITE] and UNISON – not that the shaking of hands is without its contradictions!
Unison bids to stave off youth cuts and Tory outsource plans
In a draft motion set to be put before members at its local government conference in June, the union will call for youth services to be put on a statutory footing, directly controlled by local authorities.
The body is also calling on other unions to join its fight against the outsourcing of youth services to voluntary sector organisations.
In response, Dillon Hughes, secretary for the Confederation of Heads of Young People’s Services , exposes his organisation’s utter lack of backbone by claiming that times of financial constraint are often when local authorities are at their most innovative and open to partnerships – to be translated generously as ‘we’ll do whatever is asked of us’.
Whilst Doug Nicholls, Unite national secretary for community and youth workers couldn’t resist a hint of sarcasm, he praised UNISON’s plans. “We’re delighted Unison has adopted a policy we first adopted in 1939,” he said. “We look forward to working with them to make it a reality.”
And the Campaign looks forward to working alongside both of them.
IN DEFENCE OF YOUTH WORK 