FDA at TUC Young Workers’ Conference 2025

This March, an FDA delegation attended the annual TUC Young Workers’ Conference in Congress House, London.

As part of their work to support the advancement of issues important to groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the trade union movement, the TUC holds a series of annual equality conferences.

At this year’s Young Workers’ conference, the FDA’s Lead Delegate Honey Butterworth moved a motion called ‘Harassment and bullying in the workplace’. Butterworth told delegates that “for too long, workers—especially young women—have been let down by a system that protects the powerful and silences the vulnerable”. She continued: “one in five young workers faces harassment at work…But these are not isolated incidents—this is a systemic failure- observed in every sector. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in the corridors of power, in our parliament and in Whitehall. Where for our members, when the bully or harasser is a Member of Parliament, Government Minister, or advisor- the exploitation of power is even greater”.

The motion called on the TUC Young Workers’ Committee to establish networks for young workers to share experiences and resources regarding harassment, advocate for clear behaviour code policies in workplaces and advocate for employers to provide independent support services for young workers who have experienced harassment.

Delegate Dan Marshall moved the FDA’s other motion at the conference, entitled ‘Reinvesting consultancy spend in young workers’.

This motion noted that “many employers, including the public sector, spend large amounts on consultancy. Recent figures showed UK state spending on consultancy reached £3.4 billion last year, 60% higher than before the pandemic and that “spending on consultants often comes from the same People and Capability budgets as pay and development for permanent employees”. The motion added that “government overreliance on consultancy contributes to the deterioration of internal capability, threatening the effective delivery of public services”.

The motion called on the TUC Young Workers Committee to lobby public sector employers to redirect consultancy spend to invest in training and development for young workers and for reduced dependence on consultancy and develop long term workforce plans to emphasise developing internal capability.

FDA delegate Cyara Buchuck-Wilsenach also spoke in favour of a motion from NASUWT on ‘Planning for a family as a young worker’. She told delegates that “too many young families are making the calculation that it is more economically sustainable for a woman to drop out of work altogether than to stay in work and juggle building a family” and that this is “decreasing senior representation of workers later in life due to decreased opportunities for advancement, with knock-on impacts on workplace policies for women” as well as “the overall reduction in the diversity of the workforce, not to mention the loss of benefits, and subsequent reliance of women on their, often, male partners, putting women at greater risk of economic abuse and increased reliance on family members for financial support”.

Buchuck-Wilsenach called on delegates to “work with employers to build a future where no young worker has to choose between ambition and family. Because when we support parents, we support workers. And when we support workers, we build a fairer, stronger workforce for everyone”.

The FDA delegation also spoke to a motion addressing young workers’ mental health. Delegate George Cammack spoke in favour of the motion that called on TUC young worker’s committee to “continue to campaign for young workers rights, particularly around mental health” and “champion flexible working for all young employees across all sectors, particularly disabled workers and carers”.

Reflecting on her time at conference, Butterworth said:

“I thoroughly enjoyed attending the TUC Young Workers Conference, which bought together young workers from across the trade union movement. I had the opportunity to propose a motion on harassment and bullying in the workplace, which is something I am incredibly passionate about as a young woman in the civil service. It was inspiring to listen to the voices of my peers and learn about the struggles in their sectors, and I left feeling empowered by the collective solidarity and determination to create positive change”.

Dan Marshall described his experience of attending the conference as “a great way to connect with other young workers within the FDA and across the trade union movement. I came away feeling so energised and learned so much from other delegates about how we can better engage with our members and with our employer”.

First time delegate Geroge Platt stated:

“Attending the 2025 TUC Young Workers’ Conference was a highlight of my time as an FDA member. Coming from the Northern Ireland Civil Service, I greatly look forward to my time connecting with young civil servants based in Great Britain during the event, and it was especially rewarding to meet and partner with FDA youth delegates from all devolved administrations represented at this conference. The congress is also an excellent opportunity to think through the motions on the floor from a civil servant perspective and reflect on the codes of public service which we keep to as representatives of government administration”.