by Robert Taylor
TRADE unions should be allowed to take a more active role in the provision of skills training during the current recession, the TUC argues in a new strategy paper.
It points out that unions “have significant experience in identifying the long term skill needs of specific sectors” and notes that the Government has already signalled a “marked shift away from leaving everything to employer demand” to “a more interventionist approach by encouraging employers to work together and take a more strategic longer term sectoral view”.
The TUC also calls for the creation of a “strong coalition” between the Government, business and the trade unions that will emphasise skills training “is more important than ever during an economic downturn”.
Among other measures, the TUC favours:
- The establishment of an early warning system so the government can put in place measures to provide new skills training and protect jobs in firms facing cutbacks or closure. It says: “Union learning representatives can help persuade employers and managers to take up the extra support which can be available, rather than reaching for the quick fix of job cuts.”
- A loosening of the current restrictive attitude to the statutory right of workers under notice of redundancy for a “reasonable amount of time off to look for another job or arrange training”. It says: “People are most likely to find another job if they are already in work and it is important the system maximises the potential to move straight into alternative employment.”
- The lifting of the Government-imposed restriction that removes job seekers allowance and housing benefit from those workers on courses that involve more than 16 hours a week of study.
