LGBT Conference

Grand Central Hotel Glasgow

03 October 2015

 

Matt Bellamy – Attendee Delegate Report

 

As you may or may not be aware, I had the privilege of attending the annual CWU LGBT Conference in Glasgow this year.

Below is the FULL report of the days events

Introduction

The LGBT Conference is formed as part of a range of Equality Conferences including Black Workers Conference, Women’s Conference & The Disability Conference.

 

The conference gives members and reps the opportunity to pass and debate motions that effect the LGBT community in and out of the workplace, the day also includes speeches from some recognisable figures from our union as well as guest speakers.

 

Up to two motions from this conference can be selected to appear on the Agenda Pad at General Conference in April. The LGBT Advisory Committee (LGBTAC) also plays an important role in ensuring other motions carried are dealt with and they act upon them accordingly, which in term could become rule and policy for the union.

 

The Day Itself

The day began at 10am with an opening tribute to Linda Kietz who sadly passed away just before Christmas. Linda was a very active member of the LGBTAC. A pull up poster of her was displayed throughout the conference in her honour as well as a 1 minute standing applause.

 

The Chair officially opened the conference with a brief speech about the history of marriage and how far we have come in a short space of time.

 

Linda Roy Equality Officer gave her thanks to Tony Kearns (CWU Senior Deputy General Secretary) for his work and commitment to the CWU and thanked him for stepping in as Acting General Secretary, during the election ballots earlier in the year. Linda also thanked Ex General Secretary Billy Hayes for his commitment to the equality department over the years. Linda then spoke about how the CWU and the Trade Union Council (TUC) have created a special tool-kit to tackle homophobia in football. The link can be found at the end of this report.

 

Tony Kearns CWU Senior Deputy General Secretary stood in for an absent Dave Ward (General Secretary) who was attending an austerity rally at Tory conference in Manchester. Tony who has been very active and supportive on LGBT issues, spoke about the high risk of the controversial Trade Union Bill which will have detrimental effect on the CWU and other unions. Tony also spoke about UKIP and how their major party funder is extremely homophobic and racist and the risk of UKIP having more of a say in parliament.

 

John Brown Scottish Regional Secretary gave a brief speech on the history of the trade union movement in Glasgow and Scotland.

 

Motions

Conference then moved onto the motions on the agenda.

 Composite Motion 8 was originally not admitted to the agenda because it was not addressed to LGBTAC but to branches instead. It was put to vote whether or not to include it within the agenda, conference agreed that it will be heard.

 

Industrial Issues Motion 1 To urge LGBTAC to negotiate with BT to include LGBT History Month on BT’s diversity calender.

Carried Unanimously To General Conference

 

National Issues Composite Motions

2​​-​Conference notes that homelessness rates among young LGBT people are likely to be much higher than their straight counterparts. Some studies have found that in urban areas 30% of young homeless people identify as LGBT. Many will already have faced a major vulnerability in facing homophobia and/or abuse at home from family members or partners. Sexual exploitation, mental health issues, issues around substance abuse are all very real threats to the homeless LGBT population. Conference acknowledges the excellent work of the Albert Kennedy Trust who in 2014 provided 8,000 nights of accommodation for young LGBT homeless people. 2014 saw a 160% increase in demand for these services. The austerity measures facing those most vulnerable in society means that these people are in a very desperate state with little or no support available to them. Conference urges the LGBTAC to work in conjunction with the NEC to organise a campaign to promote affiliation to the Albert Kennedy Trust. In addition to this, the campaign should lobby Government to demand that more specialist support for homeless LGBT people is made available by local authorities.

LGBT Advisory Committee​- North West London​​​​​

3​​-​​ A recent study published in the Guardian by the Adult Psychiatry Morbidity Survey has backed up previous studies in relation to how serious a problem mental health issues and suicide are in the Transgender community. The study, released in late 2014, makes a number of shocking revelations. A survey found that 48% of trans people under 26 said they had attempted suicide, and 30% said they had done so in the past year, while 59% said they had at least considered doing so. By comparison, about 6% of all 16- to 24-year-olds say they have attempted suicide. Conference acknowledges the massive issues that Transgender people have in terms of the daily intolerance and discrimination that they face. Conference calls on the LGBTAC, in conjunction with the NEC, to: Build a campaign amongst the membership highlighting some of the issues around mental health and suicide, which disproportionately affect the Transgender community. Seek to identify Transgender people amongst our membership who can be supported by the new Transgender social media networking group, as part of this group. Lobby the Government Equalities Office to urge them to be more proactive on this issue. A report will be presented to the 2016 CWU LGBT Conference (via the policy matrix).

LGBT Advisory Committee​​​​​​​​​  

4​​-​​ Conference may not be aware of the “flag for straights” to oppose gay fever that has been created by the Moscow city branch of the parliamentary majority Untied Russia party in defence of traditional values against LGTB propaganda. The flag exists in three variants where a stylized picture of a husband, wife, and three children are pictured holding hands against a background of white, blue and red – the colours of the Russian national flag. Under the picture is the hashtag #realfamily in Russian. This flag is almost identical to the flag used by the “Manif Pour Tous” movement that opposes the legalization of same sex marriages in France. This motion instructs the LGBTAC to work with the NEC and the International department to lobby the Foreign Office and the Russian and French Governments to strongly condemn this intolerance and homophobia discrimination.

London South West Postal

5 ​​-​​Conference calls upon the LGBT Committee to lobby for a change in the restrictions on who may and may not donate blood in the UK. Scientific advancements and the initial screening process mean that prospective donors from the MSM community, sex workers and drug users can now safely donate blood. 1 in 4 people will need a transfusion at some time in their life, and to exclude people from taking part in this massively under resourced service is now not necessary and outdated.

Birmingham, Black Country and Worcester

6 ​​-​​This Conference agrees that proportionality is high on the CWU Agenda and avenues for a more inclusive union must be a priority. It is therefore of some concern that the two LGBT conference motions carried at the LGBT 2014 Conference to be put forward at the 2015 General Conference were ruled out of order and had no opportunity to be debated. To date there has not been any explanation why these motions were ruled out of order. This Conference calls on the LGBT Advisory Committee and the Equality Department to work with the CWU NEC to publish an LTB. The LTB should set out clearly; An explanation for the reason that both of the motions put forward by the LGBT Conference 2014 were ruled out of order and not admitted to the General Conference 2015 pad and who is ultimately responsible. An apology to the Branch’s who’s motions at the LGBT Conference 2014 were the ones voted to be put forward to General Conference 2015 and to the Union as a whole. An assurance that it should not occur again with policies and procedures that will be put in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Harrow and District

8​​-​​Conference notes that LGSM, (Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners) reformed particularly to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Miners Strike and of their leading London Pride March. Conference also notes the moves in 2015 by the London Pride Board, after accepting LGSM should lead London Pride again, with the TUC supporting them, to subsequently move them halfway back in the March order behind commercial interests of banks and other companies. Conference also notes that it is TUC policy to get more community involvement into Pride. Conference believes that Pride should be more community based, and that unions should be part of this involvement along with local community groups. Conference therefore instructs that branches be encouraged to advertise Pride events both local and national to their members, and support and encourage their participation.​​

Greater London Combined

All of the above motions were carried forward

 

Only motion 6 had opposition from the LGBTAC and a good debate was heard surrounding this ‘in house’ issue.

 

Motions 2 & 6 were voted by conference to appear on the Agenda Pad at General Conference. The other motions carried will now be the responsibility of LGBTAC.

 

Guest Speakers

 

James Morton, Manager of the ‘Scottish and Transgender Alliance’ Has been an LGBT activist for 17 years, he gave a speech on how difficult life can be for transgender people and how small things such as ticking a box can cause problems e.g. Mr, Miss, Mrs. He has petitioned for the acronym ‘MX’ meaning mixed gender for those who do not identify themselves as a specific sex. He also works along side the Equality Act 2010 to help give advice to transgender as well as employers and policy makers.

 

Paul Dillane Executive Director of the ‘UK lesbian and Gay Immigration Group’ (UKLGIG) gave a very moving speech about asylum seekers fleeing their home countries purely of the basis of their sexuality, we were told of the poor conditions of asylum detention centres and how the UK is the only country in Europe to have such places. He also went on to discuss the process an asylum seeker who is LGBT must go through to be allowed to stay in the UK. LGBT asylum seekers must prove that they are LGBT by being put through demeaning and uncomfortable interrogation of their sex lives. He went on to say that it is still illegal to be LGBT in 77 countries around the world. He also made the comparison that the vast majority of countries with LGBT acts still criminalised, were British colonies and ruled by Britain when Britain originally made it illegal many years ago. These countries are mainly in Africa, India and the Middle East.

 

The Chair then officially brought conference to a close and thanked all in attendance including guest speakers and delegates.

 

 

  

If you have any questions about the conference itself or in general then feel free to contact me.

 

Matt Bellamy

Early Shift Processing Sub Rep

PO BOX 438

Peterborough

PE4 5PE

 

mattbellamy.cwu@outlook.com

 

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

CWU LGBT Committee

http://www.cwu.org/lgbtac.html

 

tool-kit Tacking Homophobia In Football

http://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/TacklingHomophobiaToolkit_0.pdf

 

Freedom to Donate Blood Petition (motion 5)

http://www.freedomtodonate.co.uk

 

Scottish Transgender Alliance

http://www.scottishtrans.org

 

UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG)

http://www.uklgig.org.uk

 

 

 

European Health and Safety Week – Monday 19 – Sunday 25 October 2015: 

European Health and Safety Week takes place in October each year and is designed to raise awareness of health and safety.

 

The European Agency for Safety and Health describes the week as: “Aimed at people in organisations, companies and workplaces of all sizes and sectors. Everybody involved in occupational safety and health matters is invited to take part, especially safety and health institutions and occupational insurance organisations, trade unions and employers’ organisations, companies, managers, employees and safety representatives.”

 

Health and Safety Week 2015 will take place in the third week of October (Monday 19 – Sunday 25 October). Make sure you put this date in your diary now! The theme is workplace stress and the TUC has produced guidance on how to deal with it. The guide

is attached.

 

The week is run by the European Agency for Safety and Health who have published a website full of news, materials and activities. In the UK the week is being coordinated by the Health and Safety Executive.

 

The TUC will be undertaking a number of initiatives during the week.

 

National Inspection Day

The Wednesday of European Health and Safety Week (21st October) is traditionally National Inspection Day when all safety representatives are encouraged to inspect their workplace. The TUC has produced a simple guide to workplace safety inspections. The guide is attached and includes forms, adapted from the HSE recommended forms, and a checklist.

 

Risk Assessment

A properly managed workplace should be both safe and healthy. The law says that every employer has a responsibility to undertake Risk Assessments to identify risks and take reasonably practical measures to eliminate or minimise them. The TUC has produced a

Union Safety Reps guide to Risk Assessment. The Guide is attached and is designed to ensure that Safety Reps have the necessary tools to ensure their employer has done a suitable risk assessment, as well as taken appropriate measures to implement the measures required.

 

Stress is the UK’s Top Health and Safety Concern, Say Union Safety Reps

The 11th biennial TUC survey of union health and safety representatives, found the top-five cited hazards were stress, bullying and harassment, overwork, back strains and slips, trips and falls on a level. In top place was Work Related Stress.

 

Over 400,000 people suffer from stress related illnesses caused by their work every year. The Stressed Out survey by the Samaritans, the UK emotional support charity, found: “People’s jobs are the single biggest cause of stress… with over a third (36 per cent) of Briton’s citing it as one of their biggest stressors.” Our hearts and minds can face intolerable pressures from work. Overwork, bullying, low job control and satisfaction, job insecurity, new ways of working, poor work organisation and pace of work can all cause work stress.

 

The mental symptoms of stress range from sleeplessness and listlessness through to clinical depression and suicide. The physical effects range from appetite loss and nausea through to heart damage and stroke. A workplace with a lot of stress may suffer from high absenteeism, higher risk of accidents, industrial relations problems, demotivation and high labour turnover. The HSE have produced Management Standards on how employers should tackle workplace stress. In the absence of specific legislation, these standards, based on the risk assessment approach, are seen as the most useful method of tackling stress in the workplace. The TUC has produced guidance for safety representatives on these Standards. The guide is attached and explains what safety representatives need to do to ensure that their employer takes effective measures to reduce stress.

 

European Agency for Safety and Health

The EU Agency for Safety and Health at Work, works to make European workplaces safer, healthier and more productive workplace across all European Union states for the benefit of businesses, employees and governments, promoting a culture of risk prevention to improve working conditions in Europe and promoting an employer/trade union joint approach and strongly supporting Trade Union Safety Reps. It has a section on its website dedicated to the EU Health and Safety two-year campaign and EU Health and Safety week.

 

The Link is:- https://www.healthy-workplaces.eu/en

 

Employers

All main employers have been written to regarding joint support and joint participation in EU Health & Safety Week.

 

Yours sincerely

 
 

Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

CWU GENERAL CONFERENCE MOTIONS 2015 

In line with 2015 General Conference policy motion 102 the attached table advises branches of progress made on those motions carried, accepted or remitted at CWU General Conference 2015.

 

We are required to report to the NEC monthly and to branches twice a year. The NEC also agreed that this information should be placed on the union’s website. This can be accessed by clicking on the following link: http://www.cwu.org/conference-policy.html or viewed within this LTB. The policy matrix will be updated following the formal report to the NEC.

 

If you have any enquiries on this LTB, these should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org quoting the reference GS8.1.1/LTB 643/15.

 

Yours sincerely

 

​ ​

 

Dave Ward​

General Secretary

   

Resourcing to Workload – Annual Leave/Resourcing Guidelines – Link 

Further to LTB 617/15 dated 21st September 2015 on Resourcing to Workload – Annual Leave/Resourcing Guidelines. We have received a few reports that some representatives are having difficulty accessing the link below, which can only be accessed via a Royal Mail computer e.g. via the DOMs computer, as they are being denied access by the manager. This is a breach of the IR Framework and is unacceptable.

 

https://portal.royalmailgroup.com/sites/A522/DTFTdata/Forecast2016/Report.htm

 

Where this is the case CWU representatives should register disagreement and inform their CWU Divisional representative immediately so that it can be raised in the first instance with a Delivery Director. If this fails to resolve the problem it should then be forwarded to the Outdoor department by the CWU Divisional Representative where it will be raised at National Level with Royal Mail.

 

Alternatively the information can be requested for your specific delivery unit via the following email outdoorsecretary@cwu.org stating your name, email address, CWU position and the delivery unit in question. The information will be returned via email.
Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 210

Email address:

” mstewart@cwu.org

Yours sincerely​
Bob Gibson

CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor

GENERAL CONFERENCE 2015 – EMERGENCY MOTION E8

MOTION E8
 

In accordance with the policy set out in Emergency Motion E8, which Branches will recall was carried at this year’s CWU General Conference, the purpose of this LTB is to provide branches with a report on the review of the Postal Executive election arrangements which has now been completed and to provide branches with the conclusions, recommendations and proposed rule changes which the NEC have agreed upon.

 

Branches will recall that we have previously addressed this issue in the following LTB’s, 339/15 dated 15th May 2015 and 478/15 dated 16th July 2015.  

 

For ease of reference E8 is reproduced below:

 

 

E8

Conference recognises that the ballot paper used for the election of Postal Executive Committee (Postal Grades) members 2015 contained changes to the number of candidates members were entitled to vote for in comparison to previous elections.

 

This may have inadvertently caused uncertainty for branches when making recommendations and for members when recording their vote.

 

Therefore in order to protect the integrity and reputation of the CWU there is now a requirement to re-run the ballot for the 2015 Postal Executive Committee (Postal Grades) positions only.

 

The NEC are therefore instructed to re-run ballot for the Postal Executive Committee (Postal Grades) positions at the earliest possible opportunity and to publish the revised balloting arrangements to branches by no later than May 2015 with a view to concluding the re-run ballot by no later than July 2015.

 

Additionally the NEC is instructed to conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant union rules and election regulations to ensure that there is no uncertainty regarding any future Postal Executive elections.

 

The review will be concluded by August 2015 and a report containing the conclusions, recommendations and proposed rule changes to be submitted to the 2016 Rules Revision Conference will be published to branches by September 2015.

 

National Executive Committee

 

As can be seen above E8 contained 2 specific instructions for the NEC to progress, these being the re-run of the 2015 Postal Executive (Postal Grades) ballot and to conduct a review of the relevant election rules and regulations.

 

In respect of the re-run ballot LTB 339/15 dealt with this issue and the result of the re-run ballot was declared in LTB 478/15.

 

This completes the policy instruction contained in paragraphs 3 and 4 of E8 and in accordance with the election regulations for this ballot we have received no further complaints or correspondence and accordingly this particular element of E8 is now concluded.

 

Dealing now with the second specific instruction, the review of the rules and regulations – E8 instructed the NEC to conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant rules and regulations. In order to do this NEC agreed to set up a working group to consider this matter. The working group consisted of the following CWU National representatives:

 

• President

• Vice President

• General Secretary

• Senior Deputy General Secretary

• Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

• Deputy General Secretary (T&FS)

 

The working group met on the 7th July 2015 and prior to the meeting the group were provided with a discussion paper drawn up by the SDGS that laid out options that could be adopted in future when dealing with Postal Executive elections. Again for ease of reference and completeness I have attached a copy of that discussion paper to this LTB.

 

The meeting proved to be very productive and the options contained within the discussion paper were debated at length, however the working group did not reach a consensus and in any event at the time we also needed to understand any implications that may arise from the adoption by the Postal Executive of a new IR structure in The Post Office (POL) that was in the process of being placed before the PE for endorsement.  

 

This agreement made reference to PE members from The Post Office serving on a National Consultative Committee and we needed to establish if this would introduce further reserved seats, additional to those for PTS grades, before we could finalise a position on the issue of future PE elections.

 

Following discussions with Andy Furey, Assistant Secretary Postal, it was established that there will not be reserved seats required as a result of the new IR agreement. As such we remain in the same position as we did prior to commencing this year’s PE ballot.

 

Given that the working group did not reach a consensus the NEC has agreed that the most straightforward way to deal with this matter is to report that in future when we issue a notice informing Branches of the candidates in each respective election that we also inform them of how many votes members will be entitled to cast in each election.

 

This would ensure that Branches will know, prior to ballot papers going out, what wording will appear on the ballot with regard to the number of votes that can be cast along with an explanation as to why i.e. with an explanation of the rules concerning the number and makeup of the PE.

 

Additionally for completeness the NEC will be submitting the following proposed rule amendment to National rule 8.7.4 for consideration at the forthcoming 2016 Rules Revision Conference:

 

“The method of recommending support for candidates to its own Branch members shall be a matter for each Branch. Notification of names of candidates and voting entitlement will be published to branches in advance of the despatch of ballot papers to assist branches in this matter.”

 

The above policy was agreed by the NEC at their meeting on 24th September 2015.

  

In conclusion we believe that if we could have adopted this approach prior to ballot papers going out for 2015 PE elections then there would have been no complaints and no requirement for us to have submitted the Emergency Motion. Whilst this is a matter of regret the purpose of the motion carried at conference was to look to the future and ensure no repetition.  

 

In the absence of a firm view to make wholesale change, some of which would need a more wide ranging discussion around the composition of the PE than the timescales within E8 allows, the NEC believe the position set out above is the correct one.

 

The above process will mean that branches will know prior to any ballot papers going out for the next scheduled PE elections (2017) exactly how many votes their members are able to cast. This will enable Branches to advise their members accordingly and arrange whatever publicity they feel is necessary to vote for the number of candidates they may wish to recommend.

 

Obviously if there is any change to the composition of the PE before 2017 there would be a need to revisit this issue. Likewise we will monitor the 2017 election process closely as part of an ongoing review of this issue.

 

Further to the above I will ensure that we introduce revised protocols within my department to ensure we do everything within our power to avoid any similar situations from arising in future elections.  

 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 020 8971 7237 or email address sdgs@cwu.org.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

National Youth Education Event 2015 – A Reminder 

This is a reminder that we have the National Youth Education Event taking place from 30 October to 1 November at Aston University in Birmingham.

 

The timetable is coming together really well and we are looking forward to a variety of debate and discussion on a number of different areas including: ways to improve the living standards of those in the private rental market, civil liberties especially in relation to the proposed Civil Bill of Rights, Blacklisting – the constant battle of belonging to trade unions without it hindering employment, football fans increasingly are finding it more and more outwith their financial capabilities to support their team; what can be done to encourage clubs to make it more affordable?

 

We are also organising a “big debate” session on the argument for and against staying in the EU – this should be a lively debate and will hopefully encourage the delegates to get involved.

 

Again, the industrial roundtables discussions will enable the delegates to speak directly to the DGS’ about what is happening relating to their workplaces and employers – always an event favourite.

 

Dave Ward will give his first keynote speech on CWUYouth as General Secretary on the Saturday lunch-time.

 

We will have a special appearance of Stephen Morrison-Burke who has kindly agreed to perform a set during the social event on the Saturday night.

 

Branches are asked to encourage young members to attend and we ask that applications are submitted asap to ensure places (a form is attached for ease of reference along with a copy of the draft timetable).

 

If branches need advice on this they should get in touch with my office by email to Jo Thair (jthair@cwu.org) and we will try and assist in any way we can.

 

Yours sincerely,

Simon Sapper

REMINDER AND FINAL CALL – The Ken McKenzie Award for Lifelong Learning 2015 

I would like to remind Branches that we that we are still seeking nominations for the Ken McKenzie Award for Lifelong Learning.

 

The annual presentation of the Ken McKenzie award was mandated by Annual Conference in 2010 and is presented to a ULR (Union Learning Representative) or group of ULR’s who have made a significant contribution to lifelong learning within the CWU. The award will be presented at the CWU ULR National Networking Event in November 2015.

 

Last year it was awarded jointly to Nick Bury and Liz Phillips and as usual we received a good number of nominations of a very high quality.

 

I am now inviting applications from Branches for the 2015 Annual Ken McKenzie award for lifelong learning. The award will be made in recognition of exceptional achievements and contributions to lifelong learning by a CWU ULR or a group of CWU ULRs. Nominations can be made by Branches, Regional Learning Committees or Regional Committees by completing the attached nomination form.

 

Completed Nominations should be sent to:

 

Michelle Simpson, Education and Training Department, CWU, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1RX or email learn@cwu.org

 

The closing date for nominations will be FRIDAY 9TH OCTOBER 2015.

 

The presentation of the award will be made at the Annual CWU ULR Event on 24th and 25th November 2015 in Nottingham.

 

Any queries relating to this LTB should be addressed to me via the Education and Training Department at learn@cwu.org

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Trish Lavelle

Head of Education and Training

CWU Black Workers Conference – Saturday 17th October 2015 

Branches would wish to know that the agenda for the forthcoming CWU Black Workers Conference being held in Glasgow on Saturday 17th October 2015 has now been published on the website and can be accessed using the link below:

 

Click to access cwu__1443436348_BLACK_WORKERS_AGENDA_2015.pdf

 

Hard copies of the agenda will be sent to Branch addresses of everyone that has registered using the online registration system.

 

Credential cards for delegates/visitors and voting cards for this conference will be issued on the Saturday morning at registration prior to the conference opening.    

 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven by telephoning 020 8971 7256 or by post to head office or by email to conferences@cwu.org

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

A P Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary