👋 Hello, I’m Jess McGuire from Lincolnshire and I’m the Chair of the National Young Members Forum.
The weekend of 3rd – 5th December marked an important milestone for our union’s young members and the history of UNISON in general as young members held their first ever conference at City Hall in Cardiff.
When I first became active in the union and the young members forum, it was clear that this was something that our young members wanted and campaigned for. Previously, UNISON had held a young members weekend, an educational residential with workshops. These weekends were a great experience and provided an opportunity to network with other young members and learn new skills, but they lacked the decision-making power of a conference.
In 2019 young members passed a motion at National Delegate Conference to get their first ever conference. Two years in the making, the conference saw over 100 young members from across the UK speak on motions that they were passionate about and make a real difference in our union. These motions included climate change, mental health and domestic violence. It was an honour to chair the conference and I felt very proud of everything our young members had achieved.
However, it hasn’t been an easy ride with Covid-19 throwing everything into uncertainty. It’s important to remember that these young members have often been working on the front line during the pandemic in our hospitals, schools and care homes, often without proper support or PPE at the start. It was important for me and the whole forum, to make sure their voices were heard.
The change that young members are making doesn’t stop at conference. The forum has lots of ideas to work on following the recommendations on the motions passed at conference and discussions are already being made about what motions should be put forward next year. Many young members have told me they’d like the age of young members to be raised to 30, perhaps that’s something to work on for next year!
I believe this conference will help break down barriers for young members. To show others that although we may be young, we have a lived experience that others can learn from, that a young member doesn’t have to just be the young members officer but should be encouraged to take up any role within their branch or even on a regional or national level. Young members are much more than simply just being young.
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