EC Papers September 2017

19. The GFTU was represented at the funeral of Mary Turner, on 9 August, and condolences were sent from the GFTU General Secretary to both the GMB and Mary’s family. 20. The GFTU was represented at the annual ASLEF Parliamentary reception, at Westminster, on 12 July. 21. The Kurdish Cultural Festival was a success, and was marked by the launch and sale of Doug Nicholls’ translation of Lugalbanda – The Lover of the Seed. 22. The volume on Trade Union Education – Transforming the World , edited by Mike Seal, has gone to press via Workable Books and will be launched at the TUC Congress. 23. GFTU are in negotiation with Verso publishers over the rights to republish the memoirs of the late Eric Heffer. 24. Work has begun looking at a number of European funding streams for progressive education. 25. Work has re-started on a project on migrant and directed labour for Formac, GFTU’s partnership with European trade unions. 26. Work has begun on unravelling the legacy of the GFTU’s engagement in the ILM programme. This is not an easy or a swift task but a fuller report will be made on progress to the next EC. 27. A brochure to promote the GFTU’s ‘Living Histories’ day schools has been produced, in time to be launched at the TUC. 28. GFTU has convened a working party, in conjunction with Ruskin College, in order to explore the potential gain for the Labour Movement to be found in the government’s apprenticeship schemes. An initial meeting, held on 5 July, was well attended and supported by affiliates. 29. The first of the GFTU’s ‘Webinar’ series was hosted on 4 September. It ran for just over an hour on the subject of ‘Wages, Inflation & Pay Bargaining’. 42 people participated and 41 stayed logged-in throughout the whole hour-and-a-quarter seminar. It was successful but the test will be if it can be sustained, refreshed and built upon over the coming weeks. 30. A new SLA (Service Licensing Agreement) has been worked upon for TSSA. This should, hopefully, be signed in the course of the next month and should form the basis for further SLAs with other GFTU affiliates. 31. GFTU has embarked upon a review of the education programme of the PCS union, and will be involved in the writing of a new curriculum for the union.