Report from Prospect Young Workers Forum 2025

At the beginning of November, 40 young members of Prospect made their way to our London headquarters to take part in the union’s annual Young Workers Forum. The theme of this year’s edition was ‘Your Future, Your Union.’ The aim of the weekend was to bring together workers aged 35 and under from across our different sectors and branches to network, learn and take part in organising activities.

Day 1

The first day began with a Q&A with Prospect’s General Secretary, Mike Clancy. Mike set the scene by giving an overview of the incoming Employment Rights Bill and what this could mean for young workers across the country. Questions for members included queries about union communications, how campaigns topics are agreed on, dealing with discrimination in the workplace and how better young workers can engage with union structures. The possibility of Reform government and what that might mean for young migrant members of the union generated thought provoking discussion.

Breakout sessions after lunch covered organising training, a seminar on how the union can communicate better to its young members; and a very popular workshop on how to draft motions to branch, sector and national conferences – a heated mock debate was held on the status of the humble Jaffa cake!

Quote: “It was really inspiring and invigorating meeting other young people from such a wide variety of different workplaces and hearing about the issues they’ve been facing and actions they’ve been taking.”

Day 2

Following a morning repeat of the breakout sessions, two guest speakers joined us on Sunday. Fraser McGuire, a Unite rep and current chair of the TUC Young Workers Committee addressed the group about the challenges facing young workers across the UK in the current economic climate. Fraser highlighted the need for unions to make themselves visible and understandable to young people, many of whom have not worked in a unionised workplace before. Members then took part in a collaborative session about creating a Prospect manifesto for young workers in 2026.

The final session of the weekend was led by the Migrants Rights Network, who ran a session which looked at the kind of language used to talk about immigration and how we should challenge ourselves to change what we say to deflate extremist rhetoric on the subject.

“It was a really great experience, and so good to meet everyone. I’ve come home and contacted the reps I know at my org to try and kickstart some engagement – thanks for the motivation!”

Aged under 35 and interested in getting more involved in your union as a young worker? Find out about becoming a Young Worker Rep in your branch or get in touch by emailing: [email protected]