The announcement at the end of the summer that the much-loved high street chain Wilko would be winding up after almost a century of trading, shocked many, not least of all the 12,500 employees of the family company.

Recognised-union GMB worked hard with the employer to try and provide some future, but it was not to be. That was when they got in touch with the TUC-WMCA Skills Partnership to see if some support could be provided for those workers in the West Midlands who would be losing their jobs as 400 stores close.

Building on work and alliances forged during redundancies at Warburton a couple of years ago, the Partnership sprang into action. Bespoke interview skills support and skills signposting was offered to scores of staff members at the Wilko Distribution Centre in Worksop over two days before it closed. Then the attention shifted to visiting stores in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Bloxwich, Selly Oak, Coventry, Stourbridge, Dudley, Hanley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Leek, and Kings Heath. Individual appointments were given to assess skills and other support needs with GMB officials on the end of the phone to offer bespoke guidance on more traditional union issues like notice pay and sick leave. Dozens of Wilko employees were signposted towards the redundancy support services run by local authorities, the National Careers Service, and other initiatives such as Elevate, the Centre for Ageing Better’s 50+ Redundancy Support Project delivered by FareShare Midlands.

GMB Midlands Education Officer Craig Stuart stated: 

The fallout faced by so many workers at Wilko following the disastrous mis-management of the business has been hugely upsetting. Staff who had given most or all of their working lives were given no thought of whatsoever and simply discarded through the most callous means thinkable. GMB Midlands and TUC unionlearn were able to offer these people a lifeline in terms of advice on issues such as benefits, pensions, redundancy payments and job seeking. GMB Midlands would like to express our thanks to the TUC and in particular, Matt Pointon, for his work in helping so many at such a difficult time.

Lucy Kenny, Redundancy and Retraining Project Manager from the Centre for Ageing Better, added: 

We know that redundancy can be an enormously challenging time for those affected and particularly for older workers. We’re really pleased with the success of our 50+ Redundancy Support Project in offering a programme tailored to the specific needs of older workers and delivering some really great outcomes for individuals. We hope it will be similarly beneficial for some of the older employees impacted by this closure and we would also welcome working with other employers and employees who are going through a similar process at the moment.

Finally, the TUC-WMCA Skills Partnership Lead Matt Pointon said:

This intervention has been invaluable in enabling scores of Wilko employees, distraught at losing their jobs in a workplace they love, to access support and advice to help them move on. It is the perfect example of what can be achieved when trade unions and local authorities work in partnership.

The final store closed on October 9th, but the Skills Partnership together with the GMB and National Careers Service are looking to run a webinar for workers looking to find work in retail on Tuesday October 17th.