A Programme for Social Workers’ Trade Unionism

Abstract

It is one thing to analyse social workers’ trade unionism, and it is another to come up with a constructive programme for it. In previous chapters we have examined the practical trade union experiences of social workers, and have attempted to deal with these in terms of our ideas about class and trade union politics. There is no doubt that the democratic socialist position we have been developing here does provide a distinct point of view on issues and controversies in trade unionism, but can it also provide the basis for the identification of realistic and credible goals and strategies for the advance of trade unionism? In this last chapter we will attempt to answer this question by outlining a programme for social workers’ trade unionism.