Evaluating the role of Trade Unions and Civil Society Organisations in supporting graduate educated disabled workers

This study explores the perceptions of disabled graduates regarding the effectiveness of employment-related advice and support provided by trade unions and civil society organisations (CSOs). The paper reveals distinct areas of expertise, with union impact largely based in the workplace, as disabled graduates indicate limited knowledge of collectivism or broader union national disability campaigns. CSOs engage with disabled graduates across a broader range of themes, including access to the labour market and disability-related policy, with some indirect influence on workplace issues, and meet all four of Bellamere’s criteria for an industrial relations actor. In the face of concerns with the effectiveness of these representative institutions, the study identifies some conditions that may favour coalitions to support disabled workers, drawing on union and CSO’s distinct and overlapping areas of expertise.