GFTU Newsletter
Learning Opportunities
T.U.M.P 2022
Ideal for Executive Committee members, professional officers and senior national officials responsible for managing Trade Unions at regional or national level.
Covering effective operational development, strategic thinking, problem solving, financial efficiency, personnel management, long term planning, these are all critical aspects of union management and will be covered by this whole programme.
Trade Union & Community Specialist Courses
Community GFTU has responded to the concerns of unions to develop members to train and inspire other members in workplace organisation and community engagement by creating three specialist courses.
Their Legacy - Our Heritage
WEA and General Federation of Trade Unions have launched a series of online classes with leading experts in their fields on key components of working class history that have lasting impact.
International News
Labourstart
- Canada: UFCW Canada and Uber Canada reach historic national agreement to benefit drivers and delivery people
- Global: Tesco announce strategic partnership with the global union of food and agriculture workers IUF
- Belarus: Only dialogue can end the national crisis
- Myanmar: Trade union activists in Myanmar pay a hefty price
- Cambodia: Cambodia's Naga casino denies union busting as strike continues
The GFTU has developed a comprehensive range of services under the banner of 'Win:Win' to support affiliated Trade Unions.
Employment Law Matters
- Do you have people relying on you to help them with first class support?
- Do you sometimes struggle to find reliable on-line information easily?
- Do you feel under pressure to ‘get the best outcome’ for your client?
Quorn Grange Hotel and Training Centre
We strongly support a range of adult education organisations.
Supporting the Labour Movement
Durham Miners Fundraising Appeal
Venezuela Solidarity Campaign
Supporting Venezuela in the face of US sanctions and interference.
Join VSC here
Working River - Songs and Music of the River Thames
Songs and Music of the River Thames
A CD of 21 songs about the life of working people along the Thames over the centuries is released today exactly 50 years after the last working Thames barge, The Cambria, loaded her cargo at Tilbury before being laid up.
The vast majority of these songs and tunes have been recorded especially for this project including many penned by the performers themselves dealing with mutinies, migration, strikes, disasters, the barge and fishing trades, smugglers, mudlarkers and lovers.
GFTU general secretary Doug Nicholls said: “We are thrilled to release this diverse, engaging and hard-hitting collection which I think will become an instant classic for lovers of traditional music and those hearing it for the first time. The added bonus of buying this CD is that proceeds will go to the GFTU Educational Trust to support its provision of free trade union education.”
Working River curator Brian Denny explained that the river’s position as a major maritime route had put it at the centre of many events of national significance, leading the early trade unionist and historian John Burns to describe it as ‘liquid history’.
The Thames runs deep in the national psyche and forms a fundamental part of our identity. As such is has inspired artists for centuries yet the many times voices of the working poor are lost on the tide but not today.
The fact that we have many new songs and young performers alongside established songs and veteran singers really shows that this is a living tradition which keeps giving.
Watch a promotional video for the CD on YouTube
