GFTU BGCM 2019 Minutes

cover everything, frankly, in a populous way and in a simple way. Simplicity is

the key. Somebody said the four points. Keep those four points, because that

is a plan. It ain’t complicated. Common bargaining agenda, greater

cooperation that links into a kind of new model of trade unionism, a manifesto

and action. If we deliver on all of them we are going places and you do not

need no other complicated formulas around that, it will come together, but I

think the key is to let each union decide where it fits into that particular overall

agenda.

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks, Dave. General Secretary.

THE GENERAL SECRETARY: Thanks. I am really chuffed that Dave is with us

sharing his ideas today, because I agree entirely with Joe that it is totally a

breath of fresh air. This is really serious strategic and thoughtful thinking that

Dave has been putting into this for the movement and it is fantastic that we are

part of it.

Firstly, there may be a couple of practical things that we can do. I first met

Dave when he organised his young members event at Quorn and his approach

to engaging young members has been the same as ours on the new members

weekend. Although the CWU is not affiliated, I hope the BGCM would support

us in saying that we could reserve some seats for your young members group

at our young members weekend this November so that this debate from the

CWU can be put into that and also, Dave, we launched yesterday this book

which is a history of the movement, very much targeted for young people, to

engage young people in thinking about our history, so maybe the CWU wants

to get some of those and circulate those round. I would hope you support that

as an EC we will continue to debate, if we need to at every meeting, the four

points and the ten point manifesto and how we can engage properly with that.

We have got the BGCM in two years’ time. I know that is further than this time

scale that we are looking at, but if we want to engage the younger workers from

our affiliates, perhaps we should practise what certainly I have been preaching

to the affiliates which has been to make sure that you fund a young person

from every branch to come to your conference, so maybe we should set aside

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