Social Workers Union comes of age and BASW receives social enterprise award

BASW’s Additional General Meeting kicked off with news that the Association’s trade union arm, the Social Workers Union, has received its Certificate of Independence from the Trade Union Certification Authority. Welcoming the development, which cements SWU’s place as a recognised trade union, BASW chair Fran Fuller also revealed that the Association has been awarded the Social Enterprise Mark, joining organisations such as the Co-Operative Society, the Big Issue and the Eden Project.

The Social Enterprise Mark was awarded after a judging panel confirmed that BASW satisfied four crucial criteria: it is governed by its members, places social and public benefit at the heart of its aims and objectives, reinvests all profits into the organisation and is financially independent from the public purse.

Ms Fuller said it was important that others had recognised BASW’s adherence to such important principles at a time when the social work profession was debating the need for a College of Social Work to be independent and democratically led.

Commenting on the Certificate of Independence, Ms Fuller added: “Launched only on 1 September SWU already has 2,000 members. It is very pleasing to be able to announce the Certificate of Independence and to confirm that we will now be applying to join the TUC and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.”