TUC general secretary Brendan Barber has criticised Conservative leader Michael Howard’s attack on public services and his planned “quango cull”.
Barber said: “Tory plans to cull the Union Learning Fund would deny a generation of British workers access to education and a chance to improve their lives.
“In the last year alone the fund has trained more than 60,000 British workers who had no or few qualifications. The majority of these people were let down at school thanks to the failed education policies of the last Conservative administration,” Barber said.
“Union learning is going from strength to strength and improving the lives of the thousands of people who are on courses across the country. By improving their skills these workers are able to seek promotion and are prepared for the high-skill demands of the modern economy, especially in sectors such as manufacturing,” Barber said.
