May 2017

Minutes of Delegate Meeting WB&DTUC

Thursday 18^th May 2017

 

1. Present: Sis Taylor(UNITE-CYW), Weaver (UNISON), Lowe (UNITE), Simm (PCS), Smith (UNISON/LP PPC) Bro.Kelleher, Pugh, Turner, Deacon (UNISON Gen), Juss (GMB), Marris, Rahimi (UNITE), Childs (CWU), B. Simm (PCS)

Apologies Bro S.Grant (NUT), J Grant (UCU), Brackenridge (LP/FBU) , Dodd (Community) Sis Welch (UCU) Dixon & Whyte (UNISON Gen),

2. Elections: to Executive Committee no nominations

3. Minutes of April Delegate Meeting: agreed, no matters arising.

4. no Executive Committee held, correspondence of note:

1. re Newcastle TUC threat of de-registration by TUCJCC; Newcastle TUC thanks for support, resolution of issues expected soon they said. – TUCJCC statement confirming initial response.

2. Local Waspi Demo’ Day on Friday 26/5/17, W’ton 11-1pm

3. Chainmakers stall confirmed & £100 donation to Midlands TUC received

4. affiliation fees received £43 from UCU University, £23.70 from Community

5. re-affiliation forms sent out for final time: UCU college, NASUWT, PCS West Mercia and CV branches, UNITE-CYW, UNITE 6150, UNISON Acute, Black Country Health and University branches. Awaiting fees GMB. Bro Turner agreed to contact UNISON branches. Reported that GMB and UNITE were proving hard to get funds from by other organisations too.

6. Trades Union Councils national conference preliminary agenda

7. Amnesty Garden Party on Sunday 9 July 2-5pm 23 Newbridge St, WV6 0EE

8. Unison Derby branch thanks for our donation for teaching assistants

9. Sylvia Pankhurst Memorial Committee statue appeal £25 donation agreed

10. Midlands TUC cultural manifesto; also needs to find a number of workplaces where we can gain access for our commissioned photographers to take pictures of people at work, to create a library of images with real workers not actors.

11. sent letter of thanks to Rob Marris as MP. Rob thanked delegates.

12. 2,400 UK page views on our website last month www.wolvestuc.org.uk ; reach of 3,600 on our facebook page in last month (519 people linked). The 1^st May facebook page (157 people linked) had 30,000 reach, (paying £27 for adverts over 2 weeks which generated 23,000)

13. Cyber attack on info@wolvestuc.org.uk stopped after a week, Leftspace assisted

14. £25.25 travel expense request WASPI speaker Lynn Trannah; Sold £11 our merchandise on May Day stall; Paid: £3 ream paper; £5.50 & £4 parking WMDay

5. Reports:

1. delegate reports – UNISON 25% cut, 40 jobs in Waste & Recylig announced due to cuts to food and garden waste collections and to weekly services. Wednesfield High School 15 FTE jobs and 5 teachers to go, school still full and in special measures already. Debts had been paid by council so it could Academise. www.schoolcuts.org shows affect of Tory staff funding formula cuts.

2. Midlands TUCs conference Sis Dixon & Sis Taylor attended. Sis Taylor reported there had also been a Wolverhampton visitor from NUT though NUT national speaker did not come. 16 delegates not all adhering to proportionality rules, motions passed had nowhere to go to. Sis Heath from Walsall TUC was ill – card sent to her from delegates.

3. Abortion is a Workplace issue and West Midlands Combined Authority Trades Co meeting – Sis Welch not present to give reports, will put written reports on website

4. Secretary report – Bro Kelleher written report circulated. Bro Juss reported that Workers Memorial Day got good Ex & Star coverage but a couple of days later – see video on www.wolvestuc.org.uk

5. TUC Pensioners’ Network – Bro Deacon. Cridland report raising pension age to 68 by 2030s and 70 by 2050s. Lack of TU response so far. Bro Marris reported that life expectancy had dropped in Britain for first time in modern years, people may not reach pension age in future.

6. Palestine Solidarity – Bro. Deacon – 30 attended meeting on 12 May. PSC event 19 May in solidarity with hunger strikers 5-6pm Qu Sq, WBDTUC bringing PA. Garden Party Sat 15 July. PSC letters to candidates via their website.

   h) General Election 8 June – Eleanor Smith Labour candidate for Wolverhampton SW (UNISON) was welcomed by delegates. She addressed meeting and

7. sought help for voter registration campaigning following weekend.

   6. at 8pm: speaker Bob Simm sacked senior W’ton PCS rep from Civil Service and member of PCS Ministry of Justice Exec. New inflexible attendance procedures being used to penalise staff and especially reps. Petition to re-instate and change policy. Forthcoming appeal hearing – offers of support from delegates of different unions. Book and badge presented.

   7. AOB : none