GFTU BGCM Report 2017

Resolution 12 Representation on GFTU Executive Committee (1) SUE Executive committee reaffirms the importance and value to our members of GTFU affiliation. In particular we commend the education courses through which many of our members have gained new skills and experience. (2) SUE wish to support the future expansion of GFTU affiliates and encourage those non affiliated unions to join. In particular we feel that affiliation is of significant value to those smaller organisation like ourselves, who whilst modest in membership number are mighty in terms of the impact we have at the workplace on behalf of members. (3) As part of efforts from GFTU to attract other affiliates it is important that their voices are heard and are properly represented on the GFTU executive committee. We therefore call for the GFTU to bring forward a rule change that would facilitate smaller organisations being represented on the GFTU executive and urge affiliates to support such a rule change should it be tabled.

Implementation

This resolution was implemented.

Implementation

Resolution 13 Data Collection T&C’s

At this stage there is no appetite amongst affiliated unions to develop this work. A new HR officers CPD group was created by the GFTU. Employment and management of union employees figured on the Trade Union Management programme training and the Union Building Conference.

(1) Conference notes at present employees working for Trade Unions are often represented by other trade Unions who in the outside world are competitors to the employer, or are offered in house ‘federations to ‘represent’ their interests’. Trade Unions as employers are notoriously shy in publishing details of terms and Conditions offered to their staffs. (2) For the reasons above Conference agrees to instruct the incoming GFTU Executive to set up a database of terms and conditions of workers who are employed by Trade Unions, and publish the first directory of such by the next bi-annual conference. Conference further believes this is a first but necessary step in bringing some transparency and collective values to the annual cycle of bargaining within the trade union movement.

Implementation

Resolution 14 Public Ownership of the Railways

Thanks to the work of the main rail unions there is now significant and widespread public support for this policy and it features highly in Labour Party policy.

(1) That this Conference recognises that the privatised railway has failed on all of the measures claimed as the reasons for its existence: • Competition between train operators is virtually non-existent after franchises have been let; • Instead of cheaper services, passengers now have to pay the highest fares in Europe with a real terms increase of at least 23% since 1995; • Far from reducing, annual subsidy to the industry now stands at £5.3 billion, over double that received by British Rail • Genuine private sector capital only amounts to 1% of all rail investment, the rest being underwritten by tax payers • Train operating companies together continue to extract significant profits amounting to over £200 million a year, even when half of them receive subsidies for socially necessary services. (2) Instead of reforming the current system, however, successive governments have sought to maintain it for politically dogmatic reasons whilst refusing to countenance public ownership despite the success of East Coast Trains, taken into state ownership in 2009 upon the failure of the previous franchise.

Implementing 2015 Resolutions | Page 18