Building our unions

EPSU guide on recruitment and organising 2020

EPSU’s guide, Building the union – winning for members, provides an introduction of the main issues for unions looking to develop a recruitment and organising strategy and is available in 13 languages. 

The key message from guide is that: “To reverse the decline in membership unions need to develop new strategies and tactics. Organising means, getting members active and recruiting more members, so that the union can exert power and influence on behalf of its members in the workplace.”

It sets out the main elements that trade unions should address starting with the need to prioritise recruitment and organising throughout the union, mapping workplaces, identifying where the union is strong or weak and where to focus its resources. The guide also contains practical case studies from EPSU affiliates in eight countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

EPSU general secretary, Jan Willem Goudriaan, said: “This guide is a crucial starting point for all our affiliates who want to strengthen their organisations by increasing their membership and activists. This will give us voice in our workplaces and sectors. It is key to building our power so that employers respect workers’ rights, abide by collective agreements and give workers the decent pay and conditions they deserve.”

The guide was written by Greg Thomson, former head of strategic organising at UNISON in the UK with contributions from EPSU’s recruitment and organising team.

The team now includes Agnieszka Ghinararu ([email protected]), Miloš Vlaisavljević ([email protected]) and Artem Tidva ([email protected]) with administrative support from Monica Avram ([email protected]).