GFTU BGCM Report 2017

Organise a successful visit to Greece for younger EC members. Undertaken, report of visit under International Section. On achievement of planning permission proceed with a successful new build at Quorn. Planning permission agreed later than anticipated through no fault of GFTU. Identify new investment opportunities, maintain value of existing investments. Value of investments increased, new investments organised. Hold discussions with all affiliates and potential affiliates concerning the shared and new services proposals from the EC. Extensive discussions held at summit and subsequently. Recruit four new affiliates. Five new affiliates recruited! Establish new Service Level Agreements for Customised Training. This was achieved. Organise a successful Youth Festival. Both Youth festivals were highly regarded. Organise a successful Arts and Culture Event. This was considered a very successful event. Keep Quorn Grange Hotel on budget. There was some slippage and a difficult year was experienced in 2016. Marketing sales, business planning, organisational management and other This was considered to be an extremely successful event. Produce a new song CD and fundraising event. This was not achieved. Fund an arts and cultural worker. A producer for our arts and cultural festival has been appointed. Assist successful publication of New Internationalist on trade unions. A very successful edition was produced on trade unions. issues were subsequently attended to. Organise a successful trade union organising event.

16. We strongly believe in national collective bargaining and in the professionally organised workplace with sound relationships between employers and organised unions. We have welcomed working with ACAS more closely this year to assist the development of the modern workplace. 17. We believe that unions deserve the best professional advice on everything from investments to ICT and have spent time making arrangements with companies keen to bring high level professional expertise to bear economically on the development of our Movement. 18. The world of work for too many is a terrible place. The hard end of victimisation at work, zero hours contracts, redundancy, factory and service closures are nothing new to us and we have intervened and lent a hand where requested in some very difficult circumstances. We put the difficulties we see in a context and campaign for policy changes also. We consistently lend our support to trade unionists overseas and worthy causes. 19. We have established some new and important traditions. Our TUC social is now the biggest and best at Congress and we find a great way there of mixing some business with a lot of camaraderie and pleasure. Our Next Generation Festival is an established an essential source of inspiration for the next generation of trade union leaders. Our annual union building conference or summit really does get people thinking and working in new ways together. Our new group of academic supporters, so keen to support our unions, can undertake research, education and support in an important way. 20. The EC agreed a set or priorities for its term of office and genuinely believes that it has been able to make real progress under each priority area as follows, a summary note on progress under each priority is given in italics: Provide full support where required by affiliates in campaigning and organising and recruitment. Individual requests fromaffiliates responded to extensive discussions on these items with new trainingmaterials at the summit and union building conference.

Above: Rebuilding Britain’s manufacturing key is key priority for the future

GFTU Activities | Page 31