Recruiting and organizing migrant workers through education and training: a comparison of Community and the GMB

Article Type: Abstracts From: Development and Learning in Organizations, Volume 23, Issue 6

Heyes J. Industrial Relations Journal (UK), May 2009, Vol. 40 No. 3, Start page: 182, No. of pages: 16

Purpose – Assesses the capacity for union-sponsored education and training programmes to enable unions to recruit new members, examining the success union English language courses in boosting recruitment among migrant workers. Design/methodology/approach – Studies the educational programmes set up by two UK trade unions, the GMB and Community, which have been targeted at migrant workers. Uses interviews with union officers, project workers and migrant workers to describe the English-language teaching programmes that were set up, look at how the unions made contact with migrant workers and facilitated access to these training courses, and analyse the impact that this had on the recruitment and organization. Findings – Concludes that the trade unions had a high level of success in recruiting migrant workers who attended their English language courses and argues that this is because the courses provided the opportunity for dialogue between the unions and the workers about advantages of trade union membership and encouragement to join (despite union membership not being required for participation in the courses). Highlights the contribution that regional officials and project workers made to the success of the courses and the overall recruitment strategy. Research limitations/implications – Outlines the research methods. Practical implications – Considers how unions can engage more successfully with migrant workers. Originality/value – Gives examples of the successful use of education and training programmes by trade unions to recruit members. Article type: Research paper ISSN: 0019-8692 Reference: 38AM000

Keywords: Education, Migrant workers, Recruitment, Trade unions, Training, United Kingdom