Ten years of New Labour: workplace learning, social partnership and union revitalization in Britain

Citation

(2008), "Ten years of New Labour: workplace learning, social partnership and union revitalization in Britain", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 22 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2008.08122fad.007

Ten years of New Labour: workplace learning, social partnership and union revitalization in Britain

Article Type: Abstracts From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 22, Issue 6

Mcllroy J.British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 46 No. 2, Start page: 283, No. of pages: 31

Purpose – assesses the UK’s Trade Union Congress (TUC) role in workplace skills formation and learning, asking this represents a recognition of their role as a social partner. Also assesses the implications for trade union revitalization. Design/methodology/approach – studies whether the current role given by the government to the unions in delivering/supporting workplace learning fits the definition of social partnership or if it is treating the trade unions as agents or contractors who deliver state policy. Also assesses if the creation of the Union Learning Fund and the statutory support for union learning representatives offered the trade unions a means of recruiting members and developing activists, thereby revitalizing their role within the workplace. Findings – judges the Union Learning Fund and the system of union learning representatives as being a weak and precarious substitute for social partnership. its proclamations of support for partnership, pointing to the government’s refusal to offer institutional and legislative support for the unions’ role in this area. Finds little evidence that the unions’ role in workplace learning has contributed to trade union revitalization in relation to either membership or activism. Originality/value – analyses trade union involvement in workplace learning. ISSN: 0007-1080 Reference: 37AM224

Keywords: Government policy, Partnering, Trade unions, Training, United Kingdom