Young workers programmeAli Torabi, Digital Campaigner

The big pictureAimAll young workers have a better experience of work, by growing the number of young people who are union members, part of collective bargaining agreements or on a path towards membership.

How change will happenWe need to:1.       Raise the profile and appeal of trade unionism amongst young people2.       Make sure trade unionism works for young people

Make sure trade unionism works for young workers1. Innovation – more in a moment…2. Building organising capacity to find the next generation of reps &

activists 3. Improve the TUC’s young worker engagement 4. Showcase unions’ young workers campaigning and organising 5. Combat the digital crisis in trade unionism

Our target audience: Young Core Workers (YCWs)1. 21 – 30 yrs old2. Works in the private sector, typically a service-based job in one of three

groups/industries:− Retail (warehousing through to customer service; this group includes

vehicle maintenance and delivery companies) − Hospitality − Child or social care (in the private sector)

3. Full or part-time (not in full-time education)4. Low or average wages

The Good Innovation model

understand the challenge, the context, and

information that is already known

gather deep insight into young

core workers

generate and develop new

ideas based on our insight

improve the ideas through real-world

testing

Specific activities

LEARN

Stakeholder & expert interviews

Hunch workshops

Immersion day

Desk research

INVESTIGATE

Face-to-face friendship pair interviews

Insight development

Insight validation (YCW online panel)

Insight platform development

WhatsApp diaries

FIND

Co-creation sessions with YCWs

Idea filtering

Idea validation and build (YCW online panel)

Stretch and build workshop

Develop and write idea shortlist

Ideas workshops

EXPERIMENT

Step-by-step build

Test, learn, change

Test, learn, change

Test, learn, change

Test language and comms

Nov - Dec Dec - Feb Feb - Apr Apr - Jun

What we heard: headlines• Young core workers don’t feel an overall sense of injustice – they

feel fortunate• Comparative unfairness is a key exception

• Issues are felt with people rather than employers• Managers• Colleagues• Customers

• There are plenty of people who would speak out (for themselves, and not if change didn’t happen last time)

• A sense of futility is a massive barrier

Desperate Dan

“Losing my job makes me anxious about speaking out, I’m lucky to have a job there’s plenty of people who don’t and are ready to take your place”“who would listen to someone like me if I did raise something?”“My life is completely out of my control, I have no stability in life, no security - I’m only 26 is this it? Is it going to get worse?”

Progress Paula

“I’m really passionate about my work, I love helping people”“I can see how things could be run better at work but they just don’t listen to me”“I do just as much work as my boss but get paid way less”

Too Comfortable Tamara

“I feel lucky I can swap shifts so it seems ungrateful to complain about pay or holiday pay”“Unless it gets really bad it’s easy to stay and put up with things, it’s just convenient”“I don’t really think or speak about work when I’m not there”

Stop gap Steve

“This is just a short-term job, it’s not my career”“There’s no point in trying to change things, I won’t be here much longer”“I want to work on things that will benefit me in my future career”

Some needs we heardUnderstanding and awareness of the situation• I want to know what is right and wrong and whether I’m being

treated normally or not• I want to feel like I’m being treated fairly in comparison with

others

Some needs we heardDoing something to make change happen• I need to feel more confident in myself and my issue if I’m going

to do something about it• I want to feel safe and not worried if I speak out• I want to feel that things could change before I try to address

an issue

Some needs we heardGetting together with colleagues• I need to trust my colleagues before I share my thoughts with

them• I wish it were easier to get together with others• I want to feel like I’m not doing something wrong and wont be

treated differently if I share my thoughts and opinions with colleagues

• I need to feel there’s a benefit to getting together and sharing thoughts and opinions with colleagues

Some needs we heardIssues in their work and lives• I want to feel more in control of my life• I want ways of dealing with the stresses and pressures of work• I want to be treated with respect by my employer

How can you be involved?• Watch out for the results• Keep an open mind• Tell others that this work is happening• Get in touch if you’d like to know more and be kept in the loop

• atorabi@tuc.org.uk