Trade unions and neurodiversity: 16 ways in which Red in the Spectrum can help you

Trade unions and neurodiversity

Red in the Spectrum is the specialist neurodiversity trainer for trade unions.

But we do more for trade unions and neurodiversity than just training courses!

Trade unions and neurodiversity: auditing your union

Red in the Spectrum‘s audit will investigate and report on whichever of the following that your union wishes to include.

1. Trade unions and neurodiversity: recruitment and organising

Red in the Spectrum can help you with issues such as:

• proactive recruitment of neurodivergent workers
• neuro-inclusive recruitment materials and events
• involving neurodivergent activists in recruitment and organising activities
• making your union’s joining form accessible.

2. Trade unions and neurodiversity: your union’s premises

Are your union’s head office, regional offices and other premises accessible to neurodivergent members, staff and visitors?

Red in the Spectrum can help you make them more accessible through considering issues such as:

• the sensory environment
  • lighting
  • noise
  • quiet areas
  • smells
  • ventilation
  • clutter
• ease of navigation

3. Trade unions and neurodiversity: your communications

Is your union communicating in a way that neurodivergent members and others can easily understand?

Red in the Spectrum can help you address issues such as:

• making your printed materials dyslexia-friendly
• avoiding jargon
• using different formats – video, audio, easy-read, etc
• your website and social media
• the language you use in relation to neurodiversity.

4. Trade unions and neurodiversity: your events

Red in the Spectrum can help your union make its annual conference and other events more neuro-inclusive. Working with you, we can address issues such as:

• venue considerations – lighting, quiet space
• preparation – virtual tour of venue? information well in advance? opportunity to ask questions? opportunity to ask for adjustments? assistance with eg. booking accommodation
• documentation – dyslexia-friendly? available in variety of formats? clearly laid out? provided well in advance?
• availability of support eg. funded companion where required / buddy / nominated contract
• accommodation for residential events
• travel to/from event – clear instructions, options, travel provided?
• food and refreshments
• signage and ease of navigation of venue around the event
• ease of understanding of procedures

5. Trade unions and neurodiversity: branches, regions and sections

Red in the Spectrum can help the sub-sections of you union to become more neuro-inclusive.

• making meetings more inclusive: venues; procedures; documentation
• committees – who is responsible for neurodiversity issues? is there an ND officer? disability officer? equality officer? what support is there for neurodivergent post-holders eg. laptops with assistive software?
• other activities – workplace visits? campaigns? protests? socials?

6. Trade unions and neurodiversity: forums for neurodivergent members

Does your union have a forum where neurodivergent members can raise their issues and concerns? Maybe it’s the union’s disabled members’ committee, maybe something else. Red in the Spectrum can help you to consider:

• setting one up if you don’t already have one
• its powers
• the resources that the union provide for it
• whether it discusses neurodiversity
• whether the union sends neurodivergent delegates to TUC Disabled Workers’ Conference and other bodies.

7. Trade unions and neurodiversity: collective bargaining

What, if any, neurodiversity-related demands is the union raising in collective bargaining with employers?

Red in the Spectrum can help you to identify demands to raise, and to consider:

• whether the union is highlighting neurodiversity in more general demands eg. pay and conditions?
• how neurodivergent members are represented in collective bargaining eg. are there neurodivergent representatives on negotiating teams? and/or are all negotiators trained on neurodiversity?

8. Trade unions and neurodiversity: industrial action

Industrial action is most effective when everyone takes part. Red in the Spectrum can help you to include neurodivergent members by considering issues such as:

• ballot papers and associated materials in dyslexia-friendly print layout
• reps speaking to each member individually
• clear information to members, visual as well as text
• strike committees
• running a dispute calendar
• financial and other material support
• quiet spaces to carry out dispute activities
• comfortable picket lines
• scripts for action short of strikes
• reassurance of legal rights

9. Trade unions and neurodiversity: social culture

Red in the Spectrum can help you to review your union’s social culture, to check whether it could be made more neuro-inclusive. This can cover:

• branch social events
• social culture at other events eg conferences
• what neurodivergent members say.

10. Trade unions and neurodiversity: bullying and complaints procedure

Red in the Spectrum can help your union to:

• campaign against bullying of neurodivergent members
• review complaints and how they have been dealt with
• assess how accessible your complaints procedure is
• identify any neurodiversity training needs among the people who deal with complaints.

11. Trade unions and neurodiversity: union staff

Your union’s workforce is neurodiverse. Red in the Spectrum can help you to address issues such as:

• Is your staff handbook or similar neuro-inclusive?
• Are managers and staff trained about neurodiversity?
• Any incidents/issues to learn from?
• Premises as workplaces.

12. Trade unions and neurodiversity: neurodiversity handbook / publication

Does your union publish a handbook or similar publication about neurodiversity?

• If no, Red in the Spectrum can help you to write one.
• If yes, we can review its content and recommend improvements.

13. Trade unions and neurodiversity: union policy

Red in the Spectrum can help you to develop your union’s policy on neurodiversity. We fully respect that union policy is the decision of the union’s democratic processes, but we can help by:

• if your union does not have policy, helping you to develop an initial draft
• if your union does have policy, reviewing it and making suggestions to develop it
• considering union policies on related issues, such as disability.

14. Trade unions and neurodiversity: legal services

Red in the Spectrum can help you to review:

• the legal support your union offers to neurodivergent members taking discrimination claims
• legal support for neurodivergent members on issues outside work
• how accessible your legal services are to neurodivergent members
• any collective legal action that the union has taken – or is considering taking – on neurodiversity issues.

15. Trade unions and neurodiversity: representing individual neurodivergent members

Red in the Spectrum can help you to:

• ensure that every union member has access to a rep trained about neurodiversity
• provide helpful advice and support to reps about neurodiversity.

16. Trade unions and neurodiversity: training

Red in the Spectrum can put together and deliver training courses bespoke to your union’s needs. We can deliver courses in-person or online, for the length of time that suits your union. We are a CPD training provider. Our courses include:

• Neurodiversity in the workplace and the union – aimed at reps, officials and activists
• one-hour webinar, Neurodiversity in the Workplace
• Neurodiversity training for union staff
• Neurodiversity training for union educators.

Trade unions and neurodiversity: improving trade union education

Red in the Spectrum can also help you to improve the training you provide for your reps, activists and members.

We can address two main issues:

Training about neurodiversity

• What courses does the union run on the subject – neurodiversity, autism, disability, dyslexia etc? Who are the courses for?
• Does the union run courses for disabled and/or neurodivergent members on how to get involved in the union?
• Is there content about trade unions and neurodiversity in other courses? eg. reps; health and safety; branch officials; union learning reps

Making all your training neuro-inclusive

Red in the Spectrum can identify how your union make all the training you provide to reps, activists, members, branch officials and others more accessible to neurodivergent learners. We will consider issues such as:

• enrolling on courses
• advance information
• travel to/from venue
• the sensory environment at the training venue
• training materials
• teaching styles
• timings, hours and breaks
• food/refreshments.

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Contact Red in the Spectrum

Get in touch, and we will arrange an initial discussion on your union's needs and how we can help you to meet them.

Red in the Spectrum works with unions at national, regional, branch and workplace level, and we are happy to hear from trade unionists at all levels of the movement.

Our people are neurodivergent and between us, have a lot of trade union experience.