ORGANIS, EDUCATE AND AGITATE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2019 :: RMTnews 18 The place of trade union education within our movement has for almost 200 years been seen as a vital ingredient to progress and success in the struggles we engage in. Trade union education has been a constant feature throughout the history of workers struggles. Today it remains a core activity from Frant Place to now the Bob Crow Education Centre and of course burgeoning regional programmes. Alongside ‘organise’ and ‘agitate’, the work to educate our reps and activists sits no less or more important, but all three are part of a powerful strategy honed decades ago to build an effective and fighting trade union and labour movement. Since 2014 I have closely paid attention to these intertwined strands of the unions work, expanding our capacity to organise and continuing our ability and determination to fight for our members and injustice generally. So in our trade union education the delivery of courses across our union is well above 120 last year and likely to be at least that number this year, a step on from the 80 plus in 2014. However it’s not just the number of courses organised and delivered that is the determining factor of ‘success’ but more how the union and critically the members benefit from this considerable investment by the Union. So, as the scope of subjects has widened to encompass course subjects that have been called for from within our union the importance of ensuring that what is being taught is both relevant and useful has been addressed by our association with East Riding College trade union education department. Through a process of comradely support and advice they offer their professional expertise on the courses delivered, and those attending those courses receive not only the benefit of the course itself but reward of academic accreditation for their efforts. The NEC will shortly be considering the appointment of additional lay tutors to augment the existing group. It was a welcome surprise that the request for applicants has seen the number received reach 40, and it’s particularly pleasing to see a wide cross section of our membership applying for this role. The sometimes vexed issue of ‘Well what do we get out of this education work’ has also been addressed, and the union now has a mentoring pilot project that sees regional mentors following up with students post their course to assist and support them into activity to utilise the skills and knowledge they have received. It’s been particularly pleasing to see the regional provision of trade union education in our union expand, with many courses being offered to those Reps and activists that are unable to attend the national education centre. Across the country reps and activists are meeting to develop their ability to support, represent and ‘lead’ their members, often recognising the age old truth that the problems workers face in the workplace are the same or very similar wherever they work, and so the collective solutions to those problems are discussed and built in this way with members from across our union working as we do best – collectively and by participating. Going forward learning projects will have of course the challenge of meeting the required ‘outcomes’ to realise the funding that has been won, but they will continue to be demanded to utilise all their opportunities to organise non- members into the union. RMT young members in particular are the future of our union and movement, so RMT is organising political trade union education events alongside Topuddle, Durham Miners Gala, and Burston. These amazing events offer a fantastic insight into the struggles of the past and the relevance of them today. Against overwhelming odds, the collective action of our class stood and fought, and they obviously understood that they might win, to do nothing was certain defeat. So, I hope members will continue to take up the opportunities on offer on into this year, next year and beyond because education is one of the three equal parts of our core activity, to organise, educate and agitate. ORGANISE, EDUCATE AND AGITATE RMT general secretary Mick Cash explains how trade union education can be a motivator for change