United, We Publish – Danny Freeman interview
In the run up to October’s event, United, We Publish, BookMachine will be featuring a number of opinions on Unite-focused topics such as training, pay, employment law and flexible working. Danny Freeman is the Education & Development organiser for the London & Eastern Region of Unite. Danny is passionate about education and lifelong learning and promotes it across all sectors of Unite. We interview him here.
1) As one of the workshop leaders at United, We Publish – why do you think this is a good moment to raise awareness of the work of Unite within the publishing industry?
There are a lot of young people in this industry and in recent weeks many have them have been grabbed by the political mood within Labour and the trade union message.
2) Where have you seen the work of Unite be beneficial to individuals, either personally or collectively, within the publishing industry?
This is a sector with a long history of trade unionism and on a collective basis has seen Unite reps improve and protect terms and conditions of many years. With a high percentage of women workers this had ensured equity in both pay and career progression.
3) You are passionate about education and life-long learning. What do you think can be done to help more workers get more information about the various training opportunities open to them?
Unite has a strong lifelong learning team and access to good funding for training to upskill workers and assist them with career development. We promote this through our reps in the workplaces.
4) How does training workers in the publishing industry differ from other sectors that you work with?
Publishing is at the cutting edge of the digital debate and so they often need training that is new to the market and very bespoke.
5) Without giving too much away, what might you be talking about at United, We Publish?
Unite’s education programme for our reps, our members academic development and the tailored programmes mentioned above. It is also an opportunity to identify the training needs for the sector and to showcase the specific financial assistance open to workers in this sector.
– Join us for ‘United, We Publish‘ in London on the 27th October.
