AGENDA

BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE

TUESDAY 11TH OCTOBER 2016

Mercure Leicester The Grand Hotel

Granby Street

Leicester LE1 6ES

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Message from the General Secretary

Dear Colleagues,

I am extremely pleased to be able to welcome you all to the 2016 CWU Black Workers Conference.

The last 12 months have again seen the RAC playing a key role in highlighting the

important role that our advisory committees play in our union structures and lobbying on issues close to the heart of BAME communities. The Committee has concentrated

their focus on delivering work connected to their Advisory priorities and I congratulate the whole team for their successes in this respect.

The RAC continues to play a pivotal role in challenging the far right. This is illustrated by the fact that so many counter rallies against the EDL have been attended by

members of the Committee. In addition to this they have been active in engaging with the plight of refugees by volunteering at the aid depot in Calais and going to visit refugees who find themselves stranded in the 'Jungle'.

We have seen the result of the recent EU referendum and the ugly reactions that have

taken place with attacks against EU and non-EU nationals. These are well documented on social and wider main stream media. The CWU has and will continue to play its part to ensure that our message is loud and clear, which is that any xenophobic/racist

behaviour will not be tolerated. Society is diverse and diversity brings a richness to the United Kingdom that we should all celebrate and appreciate.

Proportionality and Representation remains a strong focus for the CWU. We are

continuing our branch visits albeit these are now in a more targeted way. We have already established some really important data from the previous visits and the trends

are becoming clear. It is has been 2 years since the CWU voted to create the BAME Officer role and it is good to see that 56 branches has a BAME Officer in place. I would expect this number in the months to come to grow.

Many of you will know there is a period of change ahead for the CWU. Our work is

entirely aimed at ensuring the continuing and effective viability of our proud trade union. Our union has always been a leader when it comes to pushing the equality agenda forward and we will always be committed to maintaining the reputation we

have in the trade union movement.

I hope you all have a very successful conference.

DAVE WARD

General Secretary

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Message from National Equality Officer

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to welcome everyone to Leicester for the 18th Motion based CWU Black Workers Conference.

Many of you would have attended this conference before, and for some of you, it may be your first experience of attending a Union Equality Conference.

Please join in and please feel free to contribute. Everyone here is a friend. We all started somewhere, be it at a Union meeting, a conference or just by being

encouraged by a trade union representative. We all started to get involved in various ways and all have a story to tell.

We now have 56 BAME Officers compared to only 18 in 2014. In a matter of only two years the number of BAME Officers has trebled, so Conference, you can see we are

going from strength to strength. A task force has been set up consisting of Amarjite Singh, Winston Richards and Mahmood Ali. They will be contacting branches who at

the moment do not have a BAME officer and they will be assisting these branches to encourage them to find a BAME officer.

I hope you all play an active part in the conference and if anyone attending today has any questions or queries, please ask.

Thanks to all the staff at the CWU Headquarters for helping to put this conference together.

I hope you enjoy Conference.

LINDA ROY National Equality Officer

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CONTENTS

Page Message from the General Secretary

1

Welcome from the Equality Officer

2

Welcome from the General Conference Standing Orders Committee

3 Standing Orders

4

Timetable

9

Report to the Black Workers Conference

10

Section I: Industrial Issues Motions 1-3

19

Section II: National Issues Motions 4-18

21 Motions not Admitted to the Agenda

26

Welcome from the General Conference Standing Orders Committee

Dear Colleagues, Welcome to the CWU Black Workers Conference of 2016 on behalf of the General

Conference Standing Orders Committee.

This year we have again used the same criteria for motions that will be used for General Conference next year and, as such, the Standing Orders are as close as possible to those that will be in place for that Conference. In doing so we hope to

decrease the perception, ill-advised as it is, that these Conferences are less important than General Conference.

We have, in both the guidance notes and the Standing Orders recognised the new right of the Regional Equality Committees to submit motions to this Conference.

The Standing Orders Committee will be present during Conference should any Delegate

have any question over procedure, and to conduct the Ballot(s) for motions to go forward to General or the Industrial Conferences.

May you all enjoy a successful Conference.

Yours sincerely, John Gaby/Phil Callaghan

General Conference Standing Orders Committee

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BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE 2016–

STANDING ORDERS

1. The sessions of the Black Workers Conference shall commence in

accordance with the timetable.

2. TIMETABLE a (i) Chairperson’s Opening Remarks (ii) Equality Officer’s Address (iii) General Secretary’s Address (iv) Adoption of Standing Orders Committee Report (including appeals/

reference back) (v) Sections of Conference Business

b The doors of Conference will open at 09.30 with conference commencing

at 10.00 and closing at 16.00.

Conference is divided into two half-day sessions. If the business of any

section is completed within the timetable, the Conference shall proceed

immediately to the next section of business.

If all the business of the final section is completed within the timetable,

the Conference shall return to the earliest uncompleted business.

3. PROCEDURE IN DEBATE a Every member of the Conference must remain in their seat, except the

one who may be addressing the Conference and, should the Chairperson

rise, no-one else shall continue standing nor shall anyone else rise until

the Chairperson has resumed the Chair.

SPEAKERS b A delegate when speaking from the rostrum shall address the

Chairperson. If two or more persons desire to speak at the same time the

Chairperson shall decide to whom priority will be given. No person shall

be allowed to speak twice on the same question.

c All speeches shall be confined to the subject under discussion.

d Delegates may only refer to documents which have a bearing on the

subject under discussion.

e (i) Motions must be moved by a delegate from the submitting body.

(ii) Motions must be seconded or else they shall be deemed to have

fallen.

f A motion may be seconded formally or by a speaker making a seconding

speech.

Members of the Advisory Committee cannot move or second or speak on

behalf of their branch.

COMPOSITE

MOTIONS

g All sponsors of a composite motion will be responsible for agreeing the

allocation of moving and seconding speakers from amongst those named

within the composite motion, notwithstanding the terms of SO3e(i) and

(ii).

h The mover of a motion shall be allowed to speak for not more than 5

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minutes and any other speaker (including the mover exercising the right

of reply) for not more than 3 minutes. In EXCEPTIONAL

CIRCUMSTANCES a speaker may request the special permission of

Conference to speak for a longer period, if agreed, it shall not

exceed a further 3 minutes.

i The moving speaker shall have the right of reply to the debate only if

there has been opposition and shall not introduce any fresh matter but

shall be limited to answering the debate.

j The Advisory Committee (including the relevant Officer) shall in addition

to moving and exercising the right of reply be allowed a maximum of one

speaker in a debate on motions standing in the name of the Advisory

Committee (SO3e1 applies to the Advisory Committee).

k The Advisory Committee (including the relevant Officer) shall only be

allowed one speaker in debate on all other motions not standing in the

name of the Advisory Committee.

l No motion shall be spoken upon except by the mover, until it has been

seconded. The mover of a motion who sits down without speaking upon it

shall lose the right of addressing Conference, but shall still have the right

of reply (SO3e1) applies. The seconder of a motion who sits down without

speaking upon it shall not lose the right of addressing Conference.

ENDING

DEBATE

m Any delegate who has not spoken on the motion before Conference may

move “That the motion be now put” on the seconding of which the

Chairperson shall immediately and without discussion put this motion to

the vote. In the event of it being carried by a simple majority of

Conference, Conference shall proceed to vote on the question itself,

subject to SO3k and the right of reply as stated in SO3e1 being exercised.

n Any delegate who has not spoken on the motion before Conference may

move “That Conference proceeds to next business”, on the seconding of

which the Chairperson shall immediately and without discussion put this

motion to the vote. In the event of it being carried Conference shall at

once proceed to the next item on its agenda.

WITHDRAWAL o Any motion or composite motion may be withdrawn from the Agenda at

any time by the sponsor(s) who shall notify the Standing Orders

Committee at the earliest opportunity. Once it has been moved and

seconded, however, it shall not be withdrawn except with the agreement

of Conference by a simple majority vote.

POINT OF

ORDER

p Any person wishing to question the proceedings of Conference may rise

on a “point of order”, and when called shall state the procedural point in

exact terms, whereupon the Chairperson shall immediately give a ruling

or refer the matter to the Standing Orders Committee for a decision. Any

person raising points of order must seek to prove one or more of the

following:-

(i) That the speaker is using unparliamentary language. (ii) That the speaker is digressing from the subject of the motion. (iii) That the rules of the Union are being broken. (iv) That there is an infringement of the customary rules of debate. (v) That there is an infringement of the Standing Orders (which shall be

referred to the Standing Orders Committee).

q The Chairperson’s ruling on a point of order shall be final unless it is

challenged. The correct method of challenging the ruling shall be to

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move: “I wish to challenge your ruling.” Such a motion shall be carried

by a simple majority.

r The Standing Orders Committee shall have the right to enter debate on all

matters affecting the decisions and role of the Committee.

4. VOTING PROCEDURE a Voting at Conference shall normally be by a show of hand voting cards

which shall be issued on the basis of one per Branch in attendance.

b A formal count may be called for either by the Chairperson of the

Conference or when 5 or more delegates call for such a vote immediately

on the announcement of the decision of the hand vote.

DURING A FORMAL COUNT ALL PERSONS MUST REMAIN IN THEIR

SEATS AND NO PERSON SHALL ENTER OR LEAVE THE FLOOR OF

CONFERENCE.

Procedure for a formal count shall be as follows. The voting delegate of

each Branch shall be required to clearly indicate using their voting card

for or against, on the question requiring the decision.

c A motion will be deemed carried if it obtains a simple majority of the

votes cast.

5. PROCEDURE FOR EMERGENCY MOTIONS a Emergency motions may only be submitted for inclusion in the Agenda if

they refer to a matter which because of the circumstances giving rise to

them could not possibly have been submitted by the published closing

date for motions. Such emergency motions will only be accepted by the

SOC if they constitute a significant and important matter, which requires

a decision by Conference.

b Emergency motions must reach the Standing Orders Committee at CWU

Headquarters by midnight on Thursday 6th October 2016.

conferences@cwu.org Delegates will be advised by the SOC whether or

not the emergency motion has been accepted for inclusion to the Agenda

prior to the commencement of Conference.

c Any emergency motion submitted after the above date must be notified to

the Standing Orders Committee as soon as possible. Delegates will be

advised by the SOC whether or not the emergency motion has been

accepted for inclusion to the agenda as a matter of urgency.

d A decision taken by Conference shall not be open to the emergency

procedure at the same Conference.

6. APPEALS/REFERENCE BACK PROCEDURE a Written notice of appeals/intention to move reference back against

decisions of the Standing Orders Committee as published in the Agenda

regarding:-

(i) Motions not admitted to the agenda (ii) inclusion/exclusion of motions in a composite (iii) the priority/placement given to a motion (iv) timetable/programme of business (v) the Standing Orders for Conference (vi) the consequential rulings on motions

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must reach the Standing Orders Committee at CWU Headquarters by

midnight on Thursday 6th October 2016 to conferences@cwu.org

Such written notice must advise of the intention to appeal/move reference

back to alter the published agenda with details and reasons for doing so.

After consideration of appeals/reference backs by the SOC, Branches,

Advisory Committees, and Regional Committees (if appropriate) wishing

to continue their appeal/reference back must seek to do so by addressing

Conference at the commencement of conference.

b Challenges to other SOC decisions as printed or announced in

supplementary SOC reports must be made at the time the supplementary

report is moved.

c All appeals/reference backs will be deemed carried if they have the

support of a simple majority of Conference.

d

The Advisory Committees will also be required to follow these procedures.

7. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS a Motions to suspend Standing Orders shall only be allowed to deal with

business or circumstances that could not have been foreseen when the

Timetable/Programme of Business was adopted.

b The Chairperson may accept a motion for the suspension of Standing

Orders provided no motion is on the floor being debated.

Any such motion must state the Standing Order/Orders involved and also

state the nature and urgency of the business as to why the suspension is

required.

The Chairperson shall immediately refer such a motion to the Standing

Orders Committee who shall express their view before the vote is taken.

A motion for the suspension of Standing Orders will be carried if

supported by a simple majority of the Conference.

8. BALLOTS a There will be a ballot to select two motions this Conference will forward

for submission to the 2017 General Conference, and one motion to each

of the Postal Group and Telecoms Industry Conferences 2017.

The ballot paper for General Conference selection will be printed on the

reverse of the hand voting card. Branches will be given an additional

ballot paper(s) to allow them to vote under the appropriate constituency

within their branch to select the motion to go forward to each of the

Postal Group and Telecoms Industry Conferences.

Motions in Section I of the agenda that are carried are eligible for the

ballot to Postal Group and Telecoms Industry Conference.

Motions in Section II which are carried are eligible for the ballot for

General Conference. The ballot will take place at the end of Section 2

motions.

The ballot box will be open subject to the timetable of Conference. The

SOC shall be responsible for counting the ballot and advising the

Chairperson of the result, which will be announced prior to the close of

Conference. In the event of a tie, the SOC will administer an exhaustive

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ballot.

b Should there be a request at General Conference or Industrial

Conferences to remit a motion in name of The Disabled Workers

Conference the mover of the motion at General Conference or Industrial

Conferences will be deemed to have the authority to agree to the

remittance on behalf The Disabled Workers Conference, subject to the

agreement of the relevant Conference.

9. PROHIBITIONS The use of mobile telephones are prohibited anywhere within the confines

of the Conference Hall.

No documents, posters or banners shall be circulated, distributed or

displayed within the Conference Hall without the permission of the

Standing Orders Committee.

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TIMETABLE AND PROGRAMME OF BUSINESS

09.30 Registration 10.00 Chairperson’s Opening Remarks

10.05 Linda Roy Equality Officer 10.15 Tony Kearns, CWU SDGS Address

10.25 Kate Hudson, Regional Secretary’s Welcome 10.30 Standing Orders Committee Report and Adoption of Standing

Orders

10.35 Section I Motion 1-3 11.15 Section II Motions 4-16

12.15 Guest Speakers Norman Candy/Colum Maloney 12.30 Lunch

13.30 Guest Speaker – Laurence Shonibare 13.45 Section II Motions 4-16 (continued) followed by Ballot

15.00 Lee Baron – Dying at Work Presentation 15.15 Panel Session on Grunwick

15.45 Summation by Chairperson 16.00 Conference closes

DELEGATES ARE REMINDED THAT THE BALLOT BOX WILL BE LOCATED ON THE SOC TABLE.

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Race Advisory Committee Report to CWU Black Workers’

Conference 2016

1. Race Advisory Committee

1.1. At the time of preparing this report the Race Advisory Committee (RAC) consisted of the following people:

Amarjite Singh (Chair), Winston Richards (Vice Chair), Greg Amissah, Sylivia Beckett, Colin Bell, Bola Omoyeni, Linda Roy (National Equality Officer),

Asghar Khan, Fevzi Hussein (Coordinator), Tom Cooper (NEC), Mahmood Ali (NEC), Peter Pascall and Rosebery Taiwo (until August), Sajid Shaikh (Newly Appointed), Linford Gibbons, Rampal Suman, Alpesh Pate

1.2. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the following individuals who

have served tirelessly on the RAC for a number of years and have now gone on to greener pastures.

i. Romanus Amaefule ii. Mizanul Mugit

iii. Ian Taylor iv. Errol Robinson v. Rosebery Taiwo

1.3. Special Congratulations

Amarjite Singh has been elected to represent the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on the European Economic Social Committee on Trade Union issues as a social

partner.

1.4. New Rule (8.11.7)

The CWU Rule Book updated in May 2016 makes it clear that the Vice Chair is entitled to attend the National Executive Council (NEC) in an ex-officio capacity in the absence of the Chair. New Rule 8.11.7 reads:

“The four Equal Opportunities Advisory Committees shall elect a Chair

and Vice Chair from amongst their lay members. The Chair or Vice-Chairs shall be entitled to attend the NEC in an ex-officio capacity”.

1.5 Interaction with Industrial Committees

Royal Mail Diversity Group (RMG): Members of the RAC attend the RMG Diversity meetings and give reports at Advisory Committee meetings.

1.6 Refugees

Members of the RAC delivered aid and assistance to refugees in Calais twice this year and hope to have another visit to Calais before the end of 2016.

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1.7 Joint Advisory Committee Meetings: New Rule (8.11.9)

As a result of the carriage of Rule 8.11.9 all Advisory Committee members

come together once a year in a joint committee meeting to engage as ‘one’ group on the Equality agenda. The Joint meeting acts as a vehicle for the

Advisory Committees to push the Equality agenda forward.

New Rule 8.11.9 reads:

“In addition to the meeting in Rule 8.11.8, there will be an annual joint

meeting of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Committees”.

For ease of reference Rule 8.11.8 reads:

“The four Equal Opportunity Advisory Committees shall each meet a

minimum of three times a year.” 1.8 General Secretary’s Interaction with the RAC

Over the past year, Dave Ward, the General Secretary has interacted with the

RAC on moving the BAME agenda forward.

1.9 Election of the Mayor of London

The CWU and members of the RAC gave their full support to Sadiq Khan in the

2016 London Mayoral election. Congratulations to Sadiq on being elected to the post of Mayor of London.

1.10. Rallies and Marches

Members of the Advisory Committees engaged in anti-racist and anti-fascist rallies and marches throughout the country since our last conference.

1.11. Brexit

Since the UK voted (on 23rd June 2016) to leave the European Union, media reports indicate an increase in racist and fascist abuses. The CWU and RAC will

be monitoring events closely and an update will be included in next years’ RAC Committee report.

1.12. Submission to Consultation

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), a government department, sought the views of black, Asian and minority ethnics (BAMEs), employers and businesses on the ‘Issues faced by Business in developing Black

and Minority Ethnic (BME) talent”. The consultation ran from 10th May to 22nd August 2016. Baroness McGregor-Smith headed the review and I am pleased

to report that the Union participated by presenting a written response to the Review. The CWU highlighted a number of areas of concern, which in our opinion continues as barriers in holding back the progression of BAMEs.

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These include:

i. The concentration of BAMEs in low paid unskilled jobs; ii. BAMEs being disproportionately disadvantaged in getting higher paid jobs

even when they have equivalent qualifications as their white counter-part;

iii. Young BAMEs experiencing some of the highest unemployment levels for

their age group; iv. Providing research evidence which shows racial discrimination is

continuing in some parts of the labour market; v. Providing evidence from the trade union movement that more is needed

in fighting for equality, fairness and justice for disadvantaged groups;

vi. Evidence to support some government policies have a negative impact on BAMEs e.g. zero hour working and precarious employment;

vii. Lack of robust policies and practices which demonstrably impact on BAMEs in a positive way;

viii. Evidence to show apprenticeship schemes are failing young BAMEs and,

the need for ix. Good leadership in pushing the equality agenda for BAME members

outside of the trade union movement.

1.13 Move from Weekend to Weekday Conference 2016

CWU 2016 Black Workers Conference is the first motion based CWU Black

Workers Conference to be held on a weekday. The move to a weekday event is as a result of the successful trial of the Women’s Advisory Conference last year

on a weekday. All Advisory Conferences will now be moving to a weekday event.

2. Proportionality

The Equality Department has been instrumental in setting up the Proportionality Forum earlier this year. The event was led by the Advisory Committees who all gave presentations on their work and ongoing priorities.

2.1 Mentoring

The Union has now trained a number of mentors and mentees and this offers an excellent opportunity for BAME members in moving forward. The mentoring

programme offers an excellent tool to realise our representatives’ full potential.

BAME Officer

2.2.1 New Rule

“I am pleased to report that the CWU has a new rule in the rule book for

BAME Officers. It was agreed at General Conference 2014 that the BAME Officer role will form part of the model Branch Constitution.”

2.2.2 Rule 6.4.2

“Each branch shall elect not less than eight Branch Officers and eight other Branch Committee members. The Branch Officers are:

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Chair Secretary

Treasurer Equality Officer Womens Officer

BAME Officer Youth Officer

Political Officer”

2.2.3 Role of BAME Officer

Job description of BAME Officers reproduced below:

The following description has been put together with input from the Race Advisory Committee and was also subject to the endorsement of the Equal

Opportunities Committee and NEC.

INTRODUCTION The BAME abbreviation stands for Black & Asian, Minority Ethnic.

General Conference 2014 agreed that the BAME Officer role will form part of the model branch constitution. The following is not an exhaustive list and is meant for guidance.

The role will include:

Promoting issues affecting BAME workers to the branch committee Reporting to their branch/region on relevant issues Escalating relevant issues where necessary. This should involve collaborative

work with the Equality Officer and if necessary the appropriate IR reps Acting as a general point of contact where necessary

Providing information to BAME members (liaise with the branch on this accordingly)

Attending Regional Equality Committee meetings, CWU Black Workers

Conference, TUC or STUC Black Workers Conference (latter as a visitor if individual is not elected to attend via right through CWU elections

Involvement and support of CWU campaigns against the Far Right, Promoting rights of migrant workers etc.

Compilation of motions to CWU Black Workers Conference. Individual should be

versed in protocol applied for submission of motions – liaise with branch for info if unsure

Consideration to attend CWU Race Advisory Committee meetings as an observer; permission from Chair and National Officer should be obtained first. Also discuss with branch if there are any fiscal elements required to attend, as

this will be met by the branch, so authorisation will be required before attending.

FURTHER RECOMMENDATION: Arguably the role will be as interesting and varied as the BAME Officer makes it.

Support from the Branch is also required to help bring value to the role. Black History Month (BHM) is an area where branches can launch local initiatives to

help raise awareness around BHM and the valuable role played by BAME people in history. If the demographics are healthy enough, consideration should also

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be given to exploring the possibility of a branch BAME sub-committee. Ultimately the Equal Opportunities Department and the RAC is committed to

helping our BAME Officers, along with all the other equality strand branch officers. Any queries should be sent to: equality@cwu.org.

Linda Roy National Equality Officer

3. CWU Black Workers’ Conference 2015

The 2015 Black Workers’ Conference was held on Saturday 17th October at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. 81 delegates, represented by 55 branches were

in attendance this year.

All motions on the agenda were carried.

Motions 8, 9 and 1 were chosen to be heard at the relevant Industrial and

General Conferences.

4. Motions to 2016 CWU Annual Conference

Motions to 2016 CWU General Conference

Motions 8 and 9 from the CWU Black Workers Conference were selected to go to General Conference.

Motion 8 from the 2015 CWU Black Workers Conference (was Motion No. 24 on the General Conference Agenda) reads:

“Conference recognises the good work that Regional equality committees

are doing on behalf of our members in their region. Indeed these groups have now been expanded with the recent addition of BAME officers into our union structure. This has given new impetus to their meeting and

they are now more reflective of the branches that they serve.

Conference with this in mind it is time to fund Regional equality committees properly in the same way as the Regional women’s and more recently Regional learning committees. At present Regional equality

committees are totally dependent on their Regional committee and branches to support them. This support varies greatly across the

country, which can make things very difficult for some of the Regional equality committees to operate in an effective manner.

Conference instructs the RAC and the Equality department to work with the NEC to bring about a rule change to the rules revision conference

2016 to create a ‘Regional Equality Fund’ which will operate and be funded in the same way as the Regional women’s and Regional learning committees are currently.

CWU Black Workers Conference

The motion was not carried

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Motion 9 from the 2015 CWU Black Workers Conference (was Motion No. 35 at CWU General Conference 2016) reads:

“Conference notes the issue of deaths in custody and welcomes the fact that the CWU and the RAC have developed a positive working relationship

with the human rights group INQUEST.

The issue of the restraint technique has been highlighted before and has

been a key reason why many people in detention have died in custody. Whilst the Government may have already indicated that it is looking at

this issue, Conference calls on the RAC, in conjunction with the NEC to: Lobby the Home Office and ask for a mandatory system of recording

incidents of restraint which should be introduced in all Police Forces. Such a system would enable essential transparency, auditing, active

monitoring and opportunities for learning, something which is absent from the current system.

Using the various communication mediums that the CWU has at its disposal our Union should build capacity and raise awareness on

these issues amongst our wider membership.

Pressure the Police institutions so that their policy, training and operational procedures must consider the life threatening dangers inherent in the restraint of an individual, avoiding prolonged periods

of restraint or the use of dangerous equipment such as limb restraints, spit hoods and Emergency Response Belts.

CWU Black Workers Conference”

The motion was carried and as a result it is part of the CWU policy.

4.2 Industrial Conferences

Motion 1 at 2015 CWU Black Workers Conference was carried to go to both Industrial

Conferences: Postal Industry Conference and Telecoms & Financial Services Conferences.

Motion 1 reads:

“The Conference recognises BAME officers have no release time so going to events creates problems within the Royal Mail release form, as there is

no provision within the form for attending events that are focused on ethnic minority groups.

This conference agrees that national agreements need to be concluded with all employers where the CWU has recognition to in principle

recognise the BAME officer’s position on the release forms within these businesses.

The RAC and industrial executives are instructed accordingly”

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4.2a Telecom & Financial Services Conference

Motion 1 was Motion No. 61 at the TFS&E. The motion was remitted.

4.2b Postal Industry Conference

Motion 1 was Motion No.5 at the Postal Industry Conference. The motion was carried

and as a result the Postal Executive will be pursuing the terms of the motion.

4.3 Motions not sent to CWU General or CWU Industrial Conferences The remaining motions carried at CWU Black Workers Conference but were not selected to go to CWU Annual Conference forms part of the work for the

Advisory Committee in the forthcoming year.

5 Guest Speakers

Deborah Coles, Director INQUEST was the guest speaker.

6 Priorities

Allocation of Working Parties, which are currently:

6.1 Just a Drop – Nothing to report 6.2 Anti-Racism – Calais (please refer to section 1.6 on this report)

6.3 Proportionality – (please refer to section 2 on this report)

7 2016 TUC Black Workers Conference

The TUC Black Workers Conference took part on 15th and 16th April 2016. The CWU

delegates were:

Linda Roy Ali Moosa Amarjite Singh

Ian Taylor Sajid Shaikh

Arlene Whittaker Tom Cooper Sylvia Beckett

Winston Richards Pauline Granstan

The CWU submitted the following motion the 2016 TUC Black Workers Conference. The motion was placed as Motion No. 21 on the 2016 TUC Black Workers Conference

Agenda. The motion reads:

“Maximising the BAME vote

Conference notes the importance of the public exercising their right to vote.

The growing influence of BAME communities in this respect has previously been cited by the excellent NGO group Operation Black Vote. OBV ran hugely

successful voter registration campaigns designed to empower the BAME

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electoral collective. Despite this success, it is clear that large sections of BAME communities are still disengaged with politics.

The Migrant Rights Network estimated that almost 4 million foreign-born voters across England and Wales were eligible to vote in the General

elections this year. The population of “migrant workers” or foreign-born UK residents with voting rights continues to grow and is mainly concentrated in particular sets of constituencies.

Ipsos MORI reported that both Labour and the Conservatives increased their

vote share among BAME voters. This Conference agrees that it is essential for the BAME vote to be maximised

during political elections. Conference calls upon the incoming Race Relations Committee to prioritise this piece of work and in doing so, develop a strategic

partnership with OBV to help achieve these aims.

A report should be published to the 2017 TUC Black Workers Conference that

will:

highlight the potential of the BAME vote including those constituencies where the BAME influence can achieve political change

include details of any campaigns and how Unions can engage in this

process”.

The motion was carried.

Our congratulations to Amarjite Singh and Sajid Shaikh, who were both re-elected on the TUC Black Workers Committee.

8 2016 CWU Annual Conference Equality Day The theme of Equality Day 2016 was “Equality Matters”. All Advisory Committee

members were involved and all conference delegates had an opportunity to wear a t-shirt and get involved in the activities which took place on the day.

9 DRUM

The “Drum” is no longer produced in the format it used to be. A new magazine called “The Word” brings together all previous sections of the four advisory magazines

under one umbrella. So while there is no longer a dedicated “DRUM”, a section dedicated to BAMEs continue in “The Word”.

The new format -“The Word”- has proved extremely popular as all members of the CWU are given the opportunity to read articles written by the four advisory strands

e.g. Women Advisory Committee members, Disability Advisory Committee members, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee members and the Race Advisory Committee members in one dedicated magazine.

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10 Your Views

We are always looking forward to the view of our members, so please let us have

your ideas on how we can move the CWU forward in a positive way.

ALLOCATION OF RAC MEMBERS TO THE REGION The allocation was as shown below: Scotland Sajid Shaikh

NI Amarjite Singh

Wales Amarjite Singh

NW Greg Amissah

Midland Bola Omoyeni / Linford Gibbons

NE Asghar Khan

Eastern Rosebery Taiwo- (resigned August / Winston Richards)

SE Colin Bell

SW Winston Richard

London Sylvia Beckett

RAC ATTENDANCE RECORD Name Feb 2016 June 2016 Sept 2016

Linda Roy (National Equality Officer)

Fevzi Hussein (Co-ordinator) ***

Colin Bell S/L

Greg Amissah

Sylvia Beckett S/L

Amarjite Singh [Chair]

Winston Richards [Vice Chair] **

Bola Omoyeni

Sajid Shaikh

Mahmood Ali [NEC] *** X

Rosebery Taiwo ***

Asghar Khan

Peter Pascall ** *** X

Alpesh Patel X X

Linford Gibbons

Pauline Granstan *** S/L

Rampal Suman - - -

Tom Cooper (NEC) * X

Present

Newly Appointed

* Annual leave

** Domestic

*** OUB

S/L Sick Leave

X Apologies Resigned

[19]

SECTION I INDUSTRIAL ISSUES

1 Increasing BAME Membership within the CWU

• Conference acknowledges the excellent progress in relation to the

membership systems and our ability to accurately analyse membership data

in the various strands. Obviously this is work in progress as members prior to

the changes will not have had the opportunity to self-determine their strand

as they do now.

• This motion sets out to maximise BAME membership within the CWU. From

an organising point of view it is essential that we organise and recruit within

our core areas. The CWU must continue to be relevant to its BAME members

and to be able to reach out to BAME non-members.

• Conference instructs the RAC, in conjunction with the Industrial Executives,

to organise a program where it shall seek to increase BAME membership

within the CWU. This program will also seek to communicate with existing

members so that BAME members who have not declared their ethnicity are

encouraged to do so via various communications. Broader BAME recruitment

will be subject to input and assistance from our senior Organisers.

Race Advisory Committee

2 This conference notes the success of the Black History Month project in

highlighting the individuals and stories often neglected by mainstream accounts of

history.

This conference instructs the Advisory Committee to raise the profile of Black

History Month 2017 by assisting with the organisation of events in as many major

workplaces as possible.

The Advisory Committee is also instructed to request the industrial executives to

open discussion with major employers to assist with the promotion of Black

History Month in their workplaces.

The Advisory Committee is instructed accordingly.

Bristol and District Amal

3 This conference recognises that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) workers

are a third more likely to be underemployed than white workers, according to a

new TUC report. If BAME workers faced the same rate as white workers, over

110,000 would be lifted out of underemployment.

According to the latest ONS figures for the first quarter of 2016, BAME workers

face an underemployment rate of 15.3%, compared to a rate of 11.5% for white

workers.

The TUC analysis comes the week after the Equality and Human Rights

Commission found that BAME workers also face higher unemployment rates, lower

pay, and are underrepresented in senior roles.

[20]

The findings are released as part of a TUC submission to the McGregor-Smith

Review, a government consultation on “developing black and minority ethnic

talent”.

To combat this inequality in the workplace, the RAC is instructed to work with the PEC to put pressure on all Postal Industry‎ employers where we have members

to:

1. Publishing ethnic monitoring reports on underemployment, hiring, firing,

promotion, and training;

2. Use standardised, anonymous job application forms for new hires;

3. Advertising opportunities for training, extra hours, and development such

as mentoring programs, personal development plans etc.

This list is not exhaustive.

South Midlands Postal

[21]

SECTION II NATIONAL ISSUES

4 The CWU and the trade union movement has played and continues to play a key

role in tackling racism. Conference notes that there has been a rise in racist

attacks and abuses targeting minority communities and foreign citizens in the

United Kingdom post Brexit.

The CWU condemns racism, xenophobia and hate crimes unequivocally. We will

not allow such behaviour to become acceptable as it has no place in our society.

Conference calls on the RAC to work with the Equal Opportunities Department,

the NEC and anti-racist groups in combatting such behaviour and encourage and

promote the reporting of hate crimes.

Capital

5 EU Nationals & No Guarantee to Stay in UK

• This conference condemns the recent announcement by the Government in

July 2016 where it has confirmed that no guarantees will be given to EU

nationals currently in the UK until reciprocal safeguards could be given

concerning the 1.2M UK nationals living elsewhere in the EU.

• Conference believes it is grossly unfair and deeply offensive to deny millions

of people the right to plan their lives for the next couple of years. There are

currently over 3M EU nationals living in the UK, many of whom are fathers,

mothers, grandparents to millions of British children. The lack of security

being afforded to these people is inhumane and must be challenged by a

robust campaign.

• Post-Brexit we have already seen attacks against immigrant rise and this lack

of commitment by the British Government will only serve to fuel the

unwelcoming environment that many immigrants face with more increases in

xenophobic attacks and racial abuse likely.

• This is an issue which demands collaborative and creative work. Any

campaigns should consider public meetings, protests/rallies to engage with

those EU nationals affected, liaison with other trade unions and the TUC. This

list is not exhaustive. Conference instructs the RAC, in conjunctions with the

NEC accordingly.

Therefore conference instructs the RAC in conjunction with the NEC to work with

other Trade Unions and The TUC. Campaign which should consider public

meetings, protests and rallies to engage with those EU nationals affected. This list

is not exhaustive.

Race Advisory Committee

[22]

6 That this conference instructs the Race Advisory Committee to pursue the

following policy:

Conference notes the increasing rise in cases of hate crime since the decision to

leave the European Union. Conference therefore instructs the Race Advisory

Committee in conjunction with the CWU NEC to mount a campaign to highlight

this disturbing situation, through the media and interested groups (Stand up to

Racism, UAF, MPS and AMs) and urge the government to put into place safety

nets to protect vulnerable groups in our communities.

Nottingham and District Amal

7 Conference believes that the divisive and inflammatory language used in the lead

up to, and after the 2016 European Union Referendum has created a hostile

atmosphere towards those perceived as migrants or asylum seekers.

Since the referendum result to leave the European Union was declared we have

witnessed a significant increase in the number of reported hate crimes. A

situation now exists where sections of our community are now concerned as to

what the future has in store.

It is essential that we, as a progressive union, take action in order to show

solidarity, and support our members who may have to deal with challenging

issues in the workplace, and within the wider community.

Therefore Conference calls on the Race Advisory Committee to engage with the

Equality Department, both of the Industrial Executives, and the NEC to produce a

document condemning the bigotry and hatred with practical advice and providing

contact details of agencies where our members can obtain further support.

Greater London Combined

8 Conference notes the increasing rise in cases of hate crime since the decision to

leave the EU.

Across the UK the reporting of racist attacks, harassment and assaults in

communities has risen.

Therefore conference instructs the RAC to work with the NEC and other interested

bodies to provide a renewed focus on tackling racism in the workplace and in our

communities.

Midlands Equality Committee

9 Conference notes the ongoing and various disadvantages experienced by BAME

people in the UK.

Recent reports show;

• That the unemployment figure for white people is 6.3% and Ethnic

Minority people is more than twice that figure-12.9%

• That the number of white people going to a “top” university is 11%,

while just 6% of Ethnic Minority people are admitted

[23]

• While 14% of the UK population is from an ethnic minority background,

only 5.9% of Judges come from that community

And the list goes on.

Therefore, Conference instructs the Race Committee to re-double its efforts to

campaign for rights for BAME people in the UK, focussing on access to education

and employment.

Birmingham, Black Country and Worcester

10 Conference welcomes a recent report commissioned by the TUC which has found

that BAME workers are a third more likely than white workers to be

underemployed with fewer hours of employment than they would like.

The EHRC has also conducted its own research into this issue and reported that

life chances for young minority ethnic people had got worse over the past five

years and were “the most challenging for generations”. The Equality and Human

Rights Commission (EHRC) said BAME workers faced higher unemployment rates,

lower pay and were underrepresented in senior roles.

Conference is concerned that not enough is being done to tackle the inequality

which exists for BAME workers. It calls on the RAC, in conjunction with the NEC,

to work with the TUC and the EHRC with a view to preparing more evidence of

discrimination and inequality with a view to launching some policy initiatives via

TUC/STUC/ICTU/WTUC motions within the next 12 months.

EHRC to obtain more evidence.

Race Advisory Committee

11 That this Conference instructs the Race Advisory Committee to pursue the

following policy: This conference is more than aware of the continuing problems

faced after motions are carried at the equality conferences.

They should be placed onto the pad for General Conference to hear the motions

and to have the debate; these motions are affecting the equality strands and

have already been passed at the relevant conferences. But time and time again

motions are not heard, timed out, and so on.

At last year’s conference we had Equality Day, in which there was an opportunity

to hear the motions that are important to our members in equality, yet this still

failed.

This motion instructs the RAC to work with the NEC to bring about a rule change

to make the Monday morning or afternoon session of General Conference Equality

Morning or afternoon.

The Standing Orders committee would still decide what motion is heard first just

as they do now and this wouldn’t change, this motion is only asking for a change

in the running of the agenda.

This should be done as quickly as possible, no longer then by conference 2018.

London South West Postal

[24]

12 This Conference acknowledges all the good work the Race Advisory Committee

does on behalf of its members. However, conference recognising that there

appear to be a lack of accountability of the work the committee does in its two

years’ term of office.

Conference calls on the Race Advisory Committee and the Equality Department to

work with the NEC to give the Chair of the Race Advisory Committee the right to

put a report on the CWU Black Workers Conference agenda pad alongside the

message from the General Secretary and the National Equality Officer.

This should be achieved as soon as possible.

South East Wales Amal

13 Conference notes the amount of CWU Branches that have not filled the BAME

Officer position, and also the cancelation of the recent BAME Officers Seminar.

Conference instructs that the Branch Equality Officer should undertake the

responsibility for informing and promoting the BAME officer position in Branches

where the role is vacant. They should be given resources to promote and explain

the position to members, and support by their Branch in the relevant release time

needed to visit CWU represented workplaces where possible candidates are

employed. The Branch Equality Officer could then provided more defined data to

why this position is not being filled by our BAME members in certain geographical

areas, and report that back to the EO Dept.

Therefore conference instructs the RAC to work together with the relevant

departments, and CWU branches to promote BAME officers and to support

Equality Officers in branches where there is no BAME officer to ensure that this

work is carried out.

Plymouth and East Cornwall

14 Conference congratulates the Race Advisory Committee (RAC) on its work to date

in reaching out to underrepresented minority groups and encouraging them to

become more active in the CWU. The RAC had also been tasked with putting in

place a robust education pack for BME groups along with a mentoring system for

BME’s at all levels. All this good work is now at risk. The Government cut 50% of

the TUC Education budget in August 2016 and the remaining 50% will be

removed in August 2017 so there will be no Government funding from this date.

TU Studies departments at Further Education Collages are closing because of

these cuts. The CWU Education and Training programme for Reps has been

redesigned so that the current programme can be run to complete courses and

draw down funding by the end of the academic year in 2017. Ruskin Collage only

expects to cover their costs from what is run by the CWU up to the end of 2017.

Because of these Government cuts it is likely that from 2017 there will no longer

be a CWU Reps Training programme in its current form. Whilst Left Click is being

developed to deliver more course materials especially IT based, none of it will be

accredited.

This Conference instructs the Race Advisory Committee;

To work with the NEC and the appropriate Officers to make sure the robust

education pack and mentoring system for BME groups continues.

[25]

To work with the NEC and appropriate Officers, as we continue to be successful in

encouraging minority groups to be more active in the CWU, to meet the

challenges of how the CWU continues to train Reps from August 2017.

Harrow and District Amal

15 Conference notes the difficulties created by raising harassment and discrimination

issues in the work place. In too many instances it is one persons word against

another or a perception of circumstance. If a discrimination case does get to

tribunal it only has a 22% chance of success whereas non-discrimination case has

a greater than 60% chance of winning.

The conversation CWU representatives have with members is crucial in getting

the real issues presented in harassment cases. However we feel it is paramount to

get the information and record all instances reported.

Conference instructs the RAC in conjunction with the Equality department to

create a campaign to ensure branches and reps use THE HARASSMENT

COMPLAINTS DATABASE at the CWU. A report of the trended data should be

presented to the black workers conference 2017 by the RAC.

Conference also asks reps to send a harassment complaint database web link to

members who make a complaint or just feel they have been poorly treated.

Coventry

16 Conference notes that due to the rise of far right wing views in society and the

workplace, that there has never been a more important time to promote the

Equality objectives of the union to all CWU Representatives.

Therefore BAME/Equality Officers should give presentations to all CWU

representatives within their branch a minimum of once a year to promote the

union’s Equality objectives. To assist with this body of work branch secretaries will

need to

• liaise with their BAME and Equality Officers to find suitable

opportunities to address the Representatives at scheduled branch

meetings.

• offer support in terms of release time and equipment.

Therefore conference instructs the RAC to work together with the NEC to ensure

that all branches are given presentations by their BAME/Equality Officers. This

must be on the basis of at least one presentation a year.

South West Regional Equality Committee

[26]

OUTS

17 This conference is encouraged with the recent recruitment of engineers and

apprentices into BT. Unfortunately it appears that BT's recruitment policy is failing

to attract enough recruits from the BAME community.

This conference would like the Executive to address this concern with the

company and hopefully persuade the company to come up with a recruitment

policy that provides a workforce that is more reflective of the community they

serve.

Great Western

18 Conference Agrees:

To help create a better working relationship between the membership from the

different communities the National Executive should provide information to

Branches, regarding different religions events and special occasions.

South East No.5

[27]

NOTES