A great year to look back on with more to come

At this time of year we all tend to look back and reflect on what we’ve achieved during the last 12 months. Taking stock of how Usdaw, its reps, officials and members have fared throws up some pretty impressive achievements.

We’ve broken through the 340,000 membership mark, we’ve enrolled our 10,000th lifelong learning member, and we now have 9,500 registered activists on our books.

That’s not all. Our Organising Academy, now recruiting for its third year, has been an overwhelming success. Our Protect Christmas Day and Freedom From Fear campaigns have won widespread support. In Scotland we are aiming for similar success to ban Christmas Day and New Year’s Day trading. Our work on pensions and our Supporting Parents and Carers campaign will also keep Usdaw at the forefront of the industrial and political agenda.

Our Legal Plus Service continues to recover millions of pounds for members injured or treated unfairly at work. Our education department is providing the most up-to-date training courses for our reps. We have the best trade union web site and we have a higher media profile.

Add to this the work of our negotiating teams, who continually strive to get the best deal for our members on the whole range of workplace issues, and you can understand why 2004 was a very rewarding year for Usdaw. All in all it’s been a very positive year and this is a great reflection on the hard work, commitment and dedication of everyone involved with Usdaw.

But it’s not all been plain sailing for all our members some of whom have had to face up to losing their jobs either this year or in 2005. Redundancy has to be one of the worst aspects of working life and can have a devastating impact on individuals and their families.

It’s a scenario faced by all unions on an ongoing basis. But at least union members have the expert help of their union to secure their rights and help them through this difficult period in their lives.

If you believe the pundits, next year is likely to see a general election. I was delighted to see our members vote in favour of retaining our political fund which will allow us to continue to campaign on the issues that affect you. Next year could be a momentous year as Labour attempts to win its third consecutive election. We’ll be making sure our members’ voices will be heard loud and clear.

On behalf of the Executive Council, many thanks for your hard work in 2004 and best wishes to you and your families for the festive season. Here’s to another great year for Usdaw in 2005.

 Printer Friendly Page

 Email to a Friend

© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
This page: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/getactive/news/1103629653_2163.html
Last Modified: Sunday, 02-Jan-2005 03:43:31 EST
Proudly designed and programmed by Social Change Online
Site Credits