Academics, Employers, trade unionists and technologists gathered at the International Transport Federation head office in London on 21 May to discuss the future of collective voice in the workplace.
The event was opened by Baroness Margaret Prosser OBE who chairs the Union 21 commission on the future of Collective Voice. Other sessions through the day covered the use of digital technologies by trade unions, innovation and how unions and policymakers should respond to the big challenges to work, such as automation.
Paul Day of the PDA Union was invited to speak as part of the section on innovation, PDA’s profile and reputation is growing across the trade union movement due to our development in just ten years to become one of the 30 largest trade unions in the country.
PDAU’s winning campaign at Boots, where pharmacists are still the only workers in the UK to ever try, let alone succeed, in removing a “sweetheart” union agreement which blocked employees from having an independent voice through the recognition of a trade union has also significantly raised our profile. Paul’s presentation informed delegates of how PDAU were able to achieve this historic victory.
The PDA are delighted to share our best practice with union colleagues from other industries and to listen to and learn from their experiences. Working collectively with other trades unions allows us to multiply our influence to enable us to deliver even more for our members.