GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

there is one here , he has probably still got 35 years of his working life left or

even more. I go to our branch official training and we did our first branch

official training course at Quorn and we will be using the facilities. The first

thing that I said to Doug and the team was the fact that it was exceptional. The

food, the facilities, everything was really, really good. There was one

exception. It was not big enough. To have these additional rooms will further

expand, because I can say now that the POA will deliver all its branch official

training at Quorn, all of it. We currently do three. We are looking to do four. If

there are 52 rooms at Quorn, the day that we go there for the week we will use

all 52 rooms, because if we have got the space we will take more delegates,

more young officials to make sure that we can train them in the needs that they

have to represent members and workers in all of our workplaces, whether that

is public or private, because we have to recognise that the one thing the

employer does not want to do is to teach our members how to support them

and represent them and get them to do that when they occasionally get

themselves in that. I really admire Ronnie for his speech and pointing out the

benefits of where we are. As a new affiliate, I think the business case and the

due diligence that has certainly been done over the last four years

demonstrates the cautious approach from the Executive in taking this forward

and that has got to be commended.

On behalf of the POA I would hope that everybody in this room at this event

uses their democratic right to decide the future of the GFTU, decide the future

of how we move forward as a trade union movement. Not for me. I am coming

right to the end of mine. I know I do not look it, but I am in my last three or four

years before I can join the retirement bracket, although I will still have to wait

seven for my old age pension. On that note, let’s not look to the history, let’s

look to the future and support this proposal and demonstrate that the union

movement is capable of making big decisions, bringing about change,

supporting local communities, but, more importantly, supporting the future trade

unionists that are coming behind us. Thank you very much. (Applause)

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