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Matt Dykes

Matt Dykes

I’m a Policy Officer at the TUC, covering issues around transport, public service reform and civil society. I’m responsible for the TUC’s work on public service reform and have led the work on the TUC’s response to the Open Public Services white paper, as well as authoring the TUC’s report Civil Society and Public Services: Collaboration not Competition. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between public services and civil society, social enterprises, mutuals and co-operatives.

I’ve been at the TUC for 8 years and was formerly policy officer for our London region and national youth officer. I have previously worked for the Mayor of London as well as several years in the civil service. I’ve been an active rep for both PCS and UNISON, and was also a founder member of Justice for Colombia.

http://www.strongerunions.org

  • Matt Dykes Matt Dykes

    Do private sector workers support public sector strikes?

    An email from HR Review Update landed in my inbox. ‘Majority of private sector employees oppose public sector strikes’ read the story. But on closer inspection, it made for slightly more interesting reading than the usual line trotted out by various right wing commentators and Tory ministers.

    The poll was conducted by recruitment consultants, Badenoch & Clark, of 1,000 private sector ‘office workers’. It found that around 55% opposed, with only 14% ‘strongly opposing’ the strikes. This figure increased for men over the age of 55 but younger workers and women seemed more sympathetic.

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    Posted on September 19th, 2011 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union campaigns

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    How unions help … two great cases in this week’s news

    If confronted by some cliched ridden dinosaur telling you that unions have no place in the modern world of work and achieve nothing, helpfully point them in the way of two news stories that broke this week.

    On Monday, we learned about the RMT’s deal with Network Rail protecting their members from compulsory redundancies while delivering a very satisfactory pay rise.  All this in the face of a hostile employer, who let’s not forget attempted to use legal action to cow the union, and a transport industry threatened by cuts and job losses all round. 

    Then today, we learned that Unite had reached a deal with Jaguar Land Rover keeping car production going at three major UK plants, protecting thousands of jobs at the plants and JLR’s supply chains and, again, delivering a decent pay rise.

    In their separate ways, both deals show the lasting strength and relevance of trade unions and the massive role they have to play not only in supporting working people but also boosting jobs and growth.

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    Posted on October 15th, 2010 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union news

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    ITUC steps up the youth campaign

    As a second step of its youth campaign, the ITUC is relaunching its youth blog and is launching the campaign’s brochure.

    The youth blog comes with a redesign, new functionalities such as Facebook and Twitter sharing as well as a special campaign section.

    The brochure is a best practice guide on organising young people and is aimed at informing young people in trade unions about the wide range of work covered by trade unions at the international, regional and national level.

    The brochure is available for download on the campaign section of the blog.

    If you would like to receive printed copies for your union members, please contact me at mdykes@tuc.org.uk

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    Posted on March 19th, 2010 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union campaigns

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    Joe the Dog

    Today the ITUC launched its youth campaign, with the release of this handy little video:  Joe the Dog tries to change the world 

    Feel free to cut’n'paste to whatever social network sites you use.

    Looking forward to getting the details of the campaign as the ITUC’s own youth officer, Phillipe Gousenberger, addresses the TUC Young Members Conference which takes place in Birmingham on 26th – 28th March.

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    Posted on March 18th, 2010 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union campaigns

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    Sausage rolls brought to you by union organisers

    Some really engaging discussions today at the GFTU’s seminar on organising young workers.

    Met some great union reps and officers, some of  them from the bakers’ union BFAWU who are organising the often low paid, part time and largely female workforce at Gregg’s.  

    Two young women in particular from Gregg’s described the problems facing organising in that sector but also demonstrated that results can be achieved when its members themselves taking the lead in recruiting and organising and picking the issues to campaign on.

    It was also interesting talking to representatives from the community and youth workers section of Unite.  Their point was that there’s plenty to be learned from youth work professionals on engaging young people.  There’s years of accumulated experience there.  Expertise that we haven’t been tapping into enough in the past. 

    I think some further work with our youth worker colleagues is a must.

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    Posted on February 18th, 2010 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union organising

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    Fighting the corner for young workers

    Its no secret that young people are having a bad time of it in the labour market right now.

    Youth unemployment stands at record levels, demand for apprenticeships and places in higher education is outstripping supply and too many young workers find themselves in low paid, low skilled, vulnerable jobs in the sharp end of our service industries.

    As a response to this trade unions in the UK are uniting around the TUC’s Next Generation Campaign, making the case for a better deal for young people but also showing what role we can play in supporting, organising and developing young people at work and the wider community.

    Unions are signing their names up to the Next Generation Accord which sets out our plans for tackling unemployment and vulnerable work among young people.

    Contact mdykes@tuc.org.uk for more information.

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    Posted on February 11th, 2010 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union campaigns

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    Unions responding to change

    Had a great morning at the TUC, where unions gathered to look at the impacts of the Union Modernisation Fund over the last five years.

    Change in any organisation can be a painful process but what struck me at the event today was the real energy and appetite there was for having a proper look at what our unions are doing, how they represent, include and empower their members and the best ways to adapt and change to improve things.

    And, yes, change has come and real progress made in a number of unions.  The CWU’s youth empowerment strategy and the NUT ‘Hearth’ project are just two dynamic ways unions have improved resources and given a voice to previously excluded members. 

    For some more information on UMF projects, check out this report we have just jointly published with BIS.

    Another thing that is striking is what a productive and value for money government initiative this has been.  For very little outlay, the government has enabled unions to improve services to potentially millions of members, enhancing the positive role that unions play in the workplace and supporting thousands of businesses across the UK.

    If only some of the short sighted snipers among Tory ranks could remove their prejudices for a minute to grasp this.

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    Posted on February 9th, 2010 by Matt Dykes filed under: Union futures