SWU Campaign Fund update: 11 campaigns launched and room for more

Any SWU member who would like to run their own campaign is encouraged to submit their idea for funding
Simon Francis (Campaign Collective) and John McGowan (SWU) hold a copy of the SWU Campaign Fund application form between them
Campaign Collective Founder Member Simon Francis and SWU General Secretary John McGowan hold the first copy of the SWU Campaign Fund application form between them.

The SWU Campaign Fund, in partnership with Campaign Collective, has hit the ground running in 2023 as more social workers come forward with ideas to help the profession and those we work with.

Following on from the success of the Wales student bursaries campaign, similar campaigns are now running in Scotland and England.

Students in Scotland have seen a petition gain more than 2,000 signatures in favour of more support for students on placement, questions raised in the Scottish Parliament and met with the minister responsible, Jamie Hepburn MSP later this week.

In England, students are coming together to re-ignite calls for more support both now and in the manifestos of political parties at the next General Election.

Learn more about our ongoing UK-wide campaigns

The campaigners working on the media code for reporting of social workers have also been busy meeting the media industry. Following support from the press regulator IMPRESS, SWU wrote to all editors of national newspapers to promote the guidance and has held meetings with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) and the National Union of Journalists.

With support for the code growing, more work will take place in 2023 to encourage formal adoption of the guidelines and work to embed it into journalists’ training courses.

Social workers unable to find work because of a lack of part-time roles has also been a focus for the SWU Campaign Fund. Meetings have been secured with employers and a repeat of the research into the proportion of part time posts will be undertaken to check that warm words of support are matched by actual change in recruitment processes.

A webinar to highlight how Union members can take stepping stones to better working conditions was also hosted and can now be watched online: https://swu-union.org.uk/2022/11/social-workers-help-to-set-out-stepping-stones-to-better-working-conditions

It continues to be a privilege to provide this platform to our members who are passionate activists, especially in the areas of social justice and working conditions. We heartily encourage SWU members to submit their campaign ideas for funding through the SWU Campaign Fund webpage.

All campaigns supported by the SWU Campaign Fund are conceived of and run by social workers – much like SWU itself, which is the only UK union for, and run by, qualified and registered social workers. We are proud to be able to support our activist members in this new and innovative way.