GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

Thank you very much. An accolade for Theresa. I am sure she will do a great

job for us in that role. Now I am going to ask you to accept the report, that is

the first green tab in the book, the activities report. First of all, any questions?

Is there anything Doug missed out, anything you need clarifying? I am glad

you can see it has not all been about managing the hotel and the building

works, although that has been significant in this period, I have got to say.

BRO JAMES BIRCHALL (Social Workers Union): James Birchall, President of the

Social Workers Union. I understand at one stage the Executive Committee did

discuss the possibility of operating an advice and representation service, but a

decision was taken not to progress that. I was wondering if that might be on

the agenda for future debate in the Executive Committee.

THE GENERAL SECRETARY: Yes, James is right, it was debated at the EC and it

came from one of the Union Building Conferences as well and I think a couple

of unions’ solutions to dealing with improving their own internal advice and

representation was to actually share panels of caseworkers. I am looking at

Ian Lawrence here, because a couple of unions have done that and maybe Ian

could come up and say a bit about that, if you would not mind. One of the

solutions that some unions found was what Ian will report on here, to establish

some joint case work and advice committees which meant that, I suppose, the

immediate demand on the EC to take that forward was lessened, but with new

discussions with new potential affiliates and new small growing unions, that

issue should certainly come back on the EC agenda and if you want to help

that debate through John who is on the EC, then please put something

through, but Ian has maybe got some interesting stuff on what a couple of

unions have done on that.

BRO IAN LAWRENCE (NAPO): Thank you, Doug. Very briefly I am happy to clarify

the position. Essentially, the scheme that Doug has described emanated from

the Union Building Conference where we started to develop networks with our

sister unions and we have got an arrangement with the AEP to have what we

know as a national representatives panel. These are not legally trained

activists, but they are seriously experienced, they have been round the houses.

Some remain in work in their respective professions, some are retired, so we

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