THERE will always be a role in the workplace for well run trade unions that stand up for their members and promote better working conditions and job security.

However, trade unions are facing an uphill struggle at present. Gone are the monolithic North East industries of shipbuilding, coalmining and steelmaking, once employing tens of thousands of workers and where trade unionism found its home. Those days, like the 20th Century, are no longer here.

Today, only about 13 per cent of the private sector workforce are in a trade union. Trade union membership is also aging, with younger people not joining. And some employers discourage membership, showing their own short-sightedness in the process.

These worrying trends have been in play for decades and need to be addressed. For me, it comes down to relevance. If working people do not believe trade unions are for them, they won’t join. I’ve been a member of a trade union since I started my working life, all those years ago, because I know trade unions are relevant.

But unions also need to set an example. There is a perception they can be more vocal about the internal workings of the Labour Party rather than their members in the factory or office, where many trade union representatives do the unsung slog of improving working conditions. This is certainly the case with UNITE during Len McCluskey’s tenure as General Secretary. The Len McCluskey and Jeremy Corbyn partnership certainly undermined the relevance of UNITE and the Labour Party, something from which both organisations have yet to recover.

For UNITE, the road to recovering its reputation lies before it. Len McCluskey is stepping down as General Secretary and there are three candidates standing in an election to take over from him. Two represent more of the same. One of them is supported by the extreme left-wing Socialist Workers Party and the other is supported by the Communist Party. This sounds more like continuity- McCluskey rather than a fresh start for the union.

I believe ordinary UNITE members, those who pay their subs and keep the union going, want to see a General Secretary who will make bread and butter issues the primary focus.

From what I’ve seen of the three candidates, Gerard Coyne is the one who doesn’t see it as his job to mess around in Westminster politics focusing on who should lead the Labour Party. His focus is on, for example, enhanced training for workplace representatives. He wants to see a 24-hour, seven-day a week helpline for members who need support. He also understands the need for skills training because he knows the world of work is changing more rapidly than ever before.

And he wants to see an independent review into UNITE’s nearly £100m Birmingham hotel and conference centre where costs seemingly spiralled out of control.

These are bread-and-butter issues and like all bread-and-butter issues, Gerard Coyne’s commitments are essential because they address the basics. They put the fundamentals first.

It seems to me, he is the only candidate who wants to return the union to its members and for me, that is a decent place to start.

For that reason, the UNITE General Secretary election isn’t just critical for members of that union, but, indeed, for the future of all trade unions.

Phil Wilson was the Labour MP for Sedgefield from 2007 to 2019