Another year comes to an end, and what a year 2024 has been. This year your union has been campaigning, launching new resources, and hosting and attending events across the UK. Highlights have included:
The SWU Conference in Manchester was just one of this year’s many events. I enjoyed presenting and speaking to members at the COMPASS Jobs Fairs, addressing a crowd in Parliament Square to call for Free School Meals for All, and was proud to march alongside SWU and SASW staff in the Anti-Racism and Anti-Fascism Rally in Glasgow. SWU has also hosted more free Talk to SWU sessions which will be of interest to all practicing social workers, supported the first Diaspora Social Worker Conference in the UK, spearheaded the GFTU’s Make Equality Real campaign, and run another successful World Social Work Day Essay Competition for the next generation of activist-minded social workers.
I also wanted to mention SWU’s recent international knowledge exchange trip with the Thunderbird Partnership Foundation in Canada who shared Indigenous knowledge and culture, social work practices, reflections, and organised site visits. I invite you to read our report on what we learned.
This year social work students in Scotland, backed by the SWU Campaign Fund and SASW, have made some very welcome progress in their campaigning for fairer student bursaries. SWU and BASW NI have also published a hard-hitting report on the dire financial circumstances of social work students in Northern Ireland and the case for uplifting in the Social Work Student Incentive Scheme to £7,000 per year.
In another SWU Campaign Fund initiative, we launched the Neurodiversity Pledge for Social Work Employers during Neurodiversity Celebration Week. This pledge has been created by a group of neurodivergent social workers backed by the SWU Campaign Fund, and I am honoured to host it on the SWU website and encourage employers to use this tool to create neuro-inclusive workplaces.

If you’re looking for some compelling reads over the holidays I have several recommendations hot off the press for you and, best of all, they’re free to download and read: The new and updated Battling the Cost-of-Living Crisis: Campaign Action Pack launched by the Austerity Action Group earlier this year. SWU and BNU’s new Reflective Supervision: A Best Practice Guidefor social workers receiving reflective supervision and those facilitating the supervision session. SWU’s Quick Reference Guide – Political Terminologiescan help you navigate conversations about politics. New additions to the SWU blog series on “dog whistle” discrimination focus on the topics of ableism and xenophobia. And the SWU and A&R blog series covers the all too real discrimination and disadvantage social workers are facing with employers.
Active members are the lifeblood of unions, and having a social work membership with activism in their DNA is the driving force behind our successes. With the support of our members and the social work community, SWU partnered with two major news networks to bring attention to issues faced by social workers and the people they support. SWU and The Independent highlighted how austerity has decimated social services and more funding is urgently required. Then SWU and ITV News heard from more than 2,200 social workers – 1,173 of whom are children’s social workers – which made this one of the biggest surveys of its kind! On behalf of SWU I really want to thank everyone who completed these surveys and for the huge show of support.
Speaking of thanks, I would like to personally thank the engine of SWU which is the hard working, knowledgeable, and skilful Advice & Representation Team who are by far the reason a lot of members join SWU and BASW. No other organisation or union can guarantee that you will have a trade union officer qualified in social work providing advice and, if needed, representation at the highest level. Please continue to spread the word about the only specialist UK union for social workers.
I invite each and every one of you to become more involved with your union in the new year. You might consider becoming a Union Contact in your workplace / university, taking advantage of the free training offered to our members through the GFTU Education Programme 2024-2025, find out more about the Austerity Action Group that is pushing back against poverty and inequality, write an article for the SWU Newsletter, or take the lead and apply to the SWU Campaign Fund for funding and professional support to run a campaign on an issue you feel passionate about.
Have a great festive break and let’s keep in mind the social workers working hard over the festive period. This is a side of social work that is rarely seen by the public or reported on by the media – the great work we do 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Keep up the great work and I hope you have time to rest, recharge, and spend time with your loved ones.
John McGowan, General Secretary