Former Guild President Reece Patrick Roberts has urged students to join a trade union in a Facebook post last week.

The post, shared to the student page ‘Fab N Fresh’ on the 7th February, encouraged students to think about the benefits of joining a trade union for ‘literally a few pounds a month.’ In the post, the former President explained: ‘it may not seem important, but you must think about joining a trade union while or after university.

‘Many organisations, as we move towards a more economical and political uncertain future, will be looking to restructure, lay off staff, not increase pay inline with the cost of living … a trade union … will defend you through legal means if your employer takes the p*ss.’

Roberts also encouraged students who are employed either ‘through Worklink, the Guild or externally’ to look into joining a union. This follows on from major issues faced by those employed through Worklink over summer, which prevented casual workers from receiving payment.

Also included in the Facebook post from the former Guild President were a number of links to trade union websites.

In a statement to Redbrick, Roberts explained: ‘During my time as President, I wanted the Guild of Students to automatically enrol their student staff onto a trade union.’

Roberts highlighted the importance of trade unions promoting living wage accreditation, fair work practices and legal support in case of unfair dismissal.

He continued: ‘students are the least likely to be members of a trade union. With companies most recently [such] as ASDA and HSBC looking to lay off staff, restructure or force them into new contracts, it’s time to see that organisations all over this country are streamlining or embracing new technologies.’

The former president also reiterated his message to students to join a trade union: ‘for the price of an Irn Bru from Spar, they will be there when you need them the most.’

One current second-year student told Redbrick: ‘I think it’s very important that young people and students engage with unions. I also think that Reece was right to advocate this.

‘The earlier that students get involved with workplace democratic processes, the better they’ll be set up for the rest of their working lives.’