GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

THE GENERAL SECRETARY: Thank you very much indeed, Ben, a lifetime’s

experience and commitment to others in the trade union movement, what move

could you want and what a privilege to have Ben give us that address at the

GFTU. Thanks ever so much, Ben. We discovered recently that Ben did a

degree in archaeology as an MA later in life or someone told us that he did, so

Oshor and I were trying to work out some jokes about skeletons in the

cupboard and old fossils and mummies’ boys and all the rest of it (laughter) ,

but I thought I had better steer clear of a bit of that.

A big part of Ben’s life has been to understand the complex world of pensions

and to represent his members on a whole variety of pension schemes,

including the biggest in Europe and one of the smallest in Europe, our own,

and we like to think that we have contributed to his education in pensions over

the last four years, because it has been really quite complicated in the GFTU

scheme as one of our sections going into section 75 and we had to have all

sorts of meetings with the Pension Protection Fund and so on to pass the

scheme on in good health. So that is a major contribution and Ben continues

that, because he will be a trustee of the BT scheme going forward and, of

course, we are not letting him off that lightly as well, because that lifetime’s

experience in pensions will be evident at the Advanced Pensions Training Day

that the GFTU is organising in June, which Ben, alongside our pensions

lawyer, Ivan, will be delivering, so make sure you get your applications in there.

That was demanded by affiliates. We put it on, so make sure you are there to

get some of perhaps Ben’s last very work, but we do invite Presidents back to

the subsequent conferences, so we look forward to seeing you in two years’

time, Ben, but Ben also goes every year to the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival. I

think he has been there for 35 years, so we might be able to see him there.

Ronnie assures me that Ben’s tent is as big as a small council housing estate,

so we can perhaps share some of the space with him.

So a massive thank you from us, Ben. No employer would have an easy time

with you against them, but every trade unionist would have a good time with

you on their side. We are grateful for all of your work on behalf of the GFTU.

Thanks, mate. (Applause)

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