June 2004

WB&D TUC Delegate Meeting MINUTES Thursday 17th June 04

Attendance: Brothers: A Turner, G Baynham, C Stoll, A Goodall, W Juss, K Farmer, N Kelleher, J Grant, K Purchase
1. Welcome to new delegates/visitors & Apologies: Sisters: M Taylor, Brother B Deacon, D Turner
2. Minutes of May delegate meeting agreed correct, matters arising:
2.2.3.10 Cuba Solidarity Quiz night was booked for same evening as TUC delegate meeting
2.2.3.23 Secretary to contact Unite Against Fascism to return £105 sent for merchandise not supplied
2.2.5h) Sec to write to branches for financial support for May Day
2.3.2. Amicus/GMB/TGWU Fight for Manufacturing demo B’ham 22nd May – banner and several delegates attended
2.3.3 W’ton City Co.invite to WB&DTUC President to the Annual Council Meeting 6pm Wed. 23rd June, Wulfrun Hall – President & Secretary not available – details to Treasurer.

3. EC was cancelled due to election, Correspondence:
3.1) W’ton City Council city Centre action plan
3.2) Midlands TUC Directory – address listed wrongly – Sec to write re security
3.3) TUC – Pensions demo Sat 19th June, London – details of NUT coach circulated
3.4) Request to support fair Olympics Oxfam campaign
3.5) Midlands TUC Overcoming Barriers to Employment seminar MONDAY 24th May, Derby
3.6) Regional T&G office – affiliation fee of TGWU 5/748
3.7) Pensioners TU Action Assoc. mailing
3.8) Winston Churchill Travelling fellowship grant application
3.9) Voice of the Unions re-affiliation request £7.60 AGREED
3.10) Liberty questionnaire & re-affiliation request £21 AGREED
3.11) WB&D TUC 2004 registration with TUC confirmation
3.12) W’ton City Council – new Race Equality Agency put on hold
3.13) Bro.Deacon – copy of response from council to investigation of complaint into denial of facility time for LGB&T TUC conference – NOTED
3.14) W’ton CSC/PSC Garden party 10th July
3.15) TGWU 6/1400/7 branch – DAF Electricians receipt for donation
3.16) Working Class Movement Library £25 donation receipt
3.17) Diaspora music festival free 26/7 June & 3/4 July London
3.18) Guantanamo Human Rights Commission – request for support – INVITE SPEAKER
3.19) Troops Out delegation details Aug04
3.20) PSC/Israeli Committee Against House Demolition – B’ham public meeting Fri. 25th June
3.21) PSC model letter for MEPs – WRITE TO NEW MEPs
3.22) Birmingham TUC – Bread & Roses closed, investigation started, workers’ terms agreed
3.23) Newsletters: Colombia, Liberty, Cuba Solidarity, Walsall WEA H&S, Searchlight, Voice of the Unions, BTUC & other TUC newsletters – distributed at meeting
3.24) Sent: Torbay TUC support for declaration of Int. campaign against Occupation of Iraq & for Labour Rights

4. Reports:
a) Secretary – written report circulated – Secretary to find out result of TGWU DAF Electricians’ E.T.
b) Treasurer reported funds healthy
c) Bro.Baynham (Amicus) reported on threatened redundancies at Alvis-Vickers, Telford 375 workforce, 262 redundancies announced for January, prior to expected take-over bids for company. Expected to have large knock-on for sub-contractors in Wolverhampton and Bilston.
d) Anti-racist sub-committee – introduction and discussion on local and European election results. No fascists stood in Wolverhampton and they lost their 3 Black Country seats but gained one and were defeated elsewhere. However in the EU election the BNP got 7.1% of the vote in Wolverhampton, so there is no room for complacency. Stoke was the worst area with 15%.
5. Resolutions – none received
6. Speakers from GPMU Europackaging Ltd. dispute in Sparkbrook did not arrive. Secretary gave a brief report on the dispute that had been settled in the last few days defeating some of management proposals. Further problems may arise as further attempts are made to export jobs.
7. Discussion on the power relation of racism in the workplace. National Minimum Wage laws are still being flouted. In some factories, different racial groups predominate in different sections or shifts and so the workforce becomes racially separated and so mix less. Reports were given from the health service and local government of black workers being disproportionately disciplined. It was reported that the local high-tech manufacturing industries are almost entirely a white workforce.
8. Any Other Business – none