GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

terms and conditions of the workers and our members. The TUC and the

Labour Party have a responsibility to protect the working people of this country

in showing £10 is a bar to work above, a basic rate and which premiums are

placed on top of and it is our duty as a movement to ensure we hold them to

doing that. Please support. (Applause)

The motion was formally seconded

BRO CALLUM CLAPHAM (Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union): Bear with me,

this is my first time speaking. (Applause) I do not even think that this needs to

be brought to motion necessarily. As I see it, it is more of a duty or a

commandment, if you like. It brings us back to the core of what we trade

unionists are about and that is about protecting and sometimes even creating

equality for our workers. I am here today not advocating just a motion, but in

fact the preservation of people’s livelihoods and I am preaching to the choir

here when I say this, that no worker deserves to have their pay and their rights

abused and themselves abused subsequently. This affects everybody,

excluding maybe the top 1% and I look at Oshor when I say that! (Laughter) If

it is not hitting you now, let me tell you this. The capitalist and neoliberal

agenda has a funny way of getting around and giving you a good kicking, so by

fighting attacks on pay we are by proxy battling capitalism itself and who can

say that they do that as a job every day?

My main point here really is that we have heard Corbyn’s £10 an hour pledge,

but even with that on the table we still have a long way to go in terms of

implementation and it is our job as the guardians and bastions of workers’

rights to ensure that ground breaking pay policies like this one and even the

ones that are not so ground breaking run smoothly and reach every worker

possible.

Just to end I will stick with the Shakespearian quote thing: “Be not afraid of

greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have

greatness thrust upon them” and that is us as trade unionists. (Applause)

THE PRESIDENT: Any other speakers on Motion 7? (No response)

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