EC Meeting Papers January 2020

GFTU General Secretary’s Report

January 2020.

Introduction.

It is time for a return to the importance of workplace and trade union organisation. Strong trade unions are the key to social progress and weak trade unions have been the cause of the many difficulties we have encountered socially and economically for the last 40 years. In 1980 we started to feel the full effect of the October 1979 removal of exchange controls on the flow of capital out of the country. Industries were rubbled and the public sector privatised, overseas owned companies bought up key sections of our infrastructure, utilities, land and housing. Tax havens flourished, banks collapsed and food banks opened. Neither a special relationship with the US nor the EU prevented the difficulties we faced and the introduction of some of the most anti trade union legislation in the world. The GFTU’s role is to help make trade unions flourish again. We support well established and very strong trade unions, we help new and developing unions, we help unions in times of difficulty. As you will have seen from the highlights document, 2019, our 120 th year, was exceptionally busy and successful and against the backdrop of a major building project at Quorn, a very turbulent political situation, five key staff vacancies internally and six new affiliates, we undertook big and exciting events and developments most months. A copy of the highlights document is attached by way of reminder. 2020 is a time of consolidation and close attention to our organisation and affiliates. I attach for discussion and agreement a suggested list of priorities for the GFTU and its office and these would then be translated into priorities for the Trust, Pension Scheme, and Hotel Directors.

I feel it is time to work methodically to a focussed set of priorities.

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End of year social event.

Comments are invited on the end of year social events and EC. My own view was that they were a fitting end to a busy year, another new affiliate, great debate, new friends in the DMA, fantastic entertainments from Banner and Maddy, beautiful food from our staff, great guests and brilliant company.

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New staff.

Since the end of year EC and social event new staff have joined us. Heather Bundock becomes our new Head of Finance and Surjeet Dhillon our new Senior Finance Officer. Heather manages all of the finance team and acts as Secretary to the Pensions’ Trust. Surjeet will focus initially on managing the management accounts and accounts support for one of our affiliates and for a new client the Leicestershire Promotions, based in our building. A decision remains to be made on the temporary part time staff we have employed to undertake education admin, social media and office support.

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