Migrant workers go to the top of the class at Christian Salvesen in Lutterworth

Migrant workers have gone to the top of the class at the Christian Salvesen service and returns centre in Lutterworth after retail union Usdaw and depot management launched a trailblazing learning programme.

More than 70% of workers at the vehicle service and returns facility come from all across the globe - including Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India – and site management identified better communication as one of the main issues on-site.

So depot manager Paul Walker contacted Usdaw and together they launched Project Troika to introduce English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses for small groups of migrant workers.

Usdaw Union Learning Rep and shop steward Simon Mahoney recognised that not only would migrant workers be much better equipped to do their jobs, but they could talk directly to him to about any employment issues they might have.

“Communication is the key to us all doing our jobs well and getting on.” Simon Mahoney says. “The difference it has made to the whole depot has been amazing and I’ve seen the confidence of my colleagues grow.”

“The reality is that when you train somebody or offer them an opportunity to learn something new, they will feel more valued and would see a long-term future with the company.”

“Christian Salvesen has been totally committed to this project from the start and they have proved to be incredibly supportive of learning by making sure that everyone taking an ESOL course gets paid time to learn. Migrant workers only qualify for free state learning if they’ve been resident in an EU country for three years and the company has even put their hands in their pocket to pay for courses for those who don’t qualify.”

Paul Walker has been a driving force behind the learning programme and has seen clear benefits for the operation of this important hub in the Salvesen distribution system.

“Staff retention had always been an issue here with up to 80% of new starters leaving in a short space of time,” Paul Walker said. “We’ve seen that figure plummet down to 18% which is an astonishing turnaround and a tribute to the power of learning.” “We’re so impressed with the impact ESOL courses have had that we’ve expanded Project Troika to include everyone on site in a range of learning opportunities from NVQs and IT courses to basic skills in reading and maths. We’re confident of a big take-up for those courses and we’ve committed to building the skills base throughout the depot.”

“We wanted to make sure migrant workers were not denied opportunities here because they lacked the necessary language skills and we now want to make sure everyone here reaches their full potential.

Simon Mahoney’s pioneering work at Lutterworth has been recognised by the Midlands TUC who awarded him the Regional Union Learning Representative of the Year award.

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, Paul Clarke, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail paul.clarke@usdaw.org.uk.

• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fifth biggest trade union, with over 340,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.

• Journalists can subscribe to receive Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service.

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© 2003 (USDAW) Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers
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