PCS Glasgow & Clyde HMRC And Valuation Branch

AGM PACK

2017

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Contents

3. Introduction/ Agenda4. Branch Nominations/ Group Nominations5. National Nominations6. Annual Report9. Financial Report10. Motion Guidance/ Standing Orders/ Motions Timings11. Branch Motions12. Group Motions15. National Motions

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Introduction

Thanks for attending the 2017 Glasgow & Clyde HMRC And Valuation Branch AGM. We've got an extremely busy agenda for this year's AGM but hope to get through all business within the restricted time we have available. We look forward to hearing from you in the various debates that will be held on the motions we're putting forward and are also delighted to have our Deputy Group Secretary, John Davidson, as our guest speaker this year.

We'd like to thank you for attending and hope you enjoy the meeting.

Many thanks,

Glasgow & Clyde Branch Executive Committee

Agenda

1. Welcome from President2. Apologies3. Elections

a) AGM Scrutineersb) Branch Auditorsc) Declaration of elected BEC membersd) Branch Women’s Advisory Committee (BWAC)e) Group Conference Delegatesf) National Conference Delegatesg) Group Nominationsh) National Nominations

4. Guest Speaker – John Davidson5. Branch Motions6. Group Motions7. National Motions8. Reports

a) Branch Annual Reportb) Financial Report

9. Guillotined Motions10. Declaration of AGM Election Results11. AOCB

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Branch Nominations

Branch Auditors (2): Stewart Donaldson, Derek Gear

BEC Members:Secretary: George McIlvinneyAssistant Secretary: Taylor RiachPresident: Bobby YoungVice Presidents (2): two vacancies (one reserved VOA position)Organiser: Taylor RiachTreasurer: Simon DickWomen's Officer: Carolina Perez

BAME Officer: Folake MosuroDisabled Members' Officer: Mark MiddletonEnvironmental Officer: VacantHealth & Safety Officer: Gill ForbesProud Officer: Kirsty BrownTraining Officer: Adrien BoyeldieuUnion Learning Coordinator: Adrien BoyeldieuYoung Members' Officer: Bernard Meechan

Branch Women's Advisory Committee (5): five vacancies

Group Conference Delegates (3): Gill Forbes, Taylor Riach, one vacancy

National Conference Delegates (3): Gill Forbes, Taylor Riach, Bobby Young

Group Nominations

President: Lorna MerryVice President: Hector WesleyTreasurer: Hamish DrummondDeputy Group Secretary: John Davidson

Assistant Group Secretaries: Clive Bryant, Barney Lawn, Ian Lawther, Mark Leopard, Margo McCabe, Marianne Owens, Colette Smith, John Smith

Ordinary GEC Positions: Laura Bee, Tracy Boyce, Harvey Crane, Scott Clark, Cathy Darcan, Mark Emmerson, Barbra Farmer, Dave Hansford, Amjad Ismail, Sharon Jeffrey, Andy Lord, Mo Lumb, Alex Morgan, Kevin McHugh, Alan Runswick, Peter Tinley, Lee Vernon, Paul Wolfe, Bobby Young

Auditor: Ian ColledgeEditorial Board: Pete Goddard, Darren Price, Fay WestbrookDMAC: Harvey Crane, Cathy Darcan, Barbra Farmer, Andy Forster, Jean Manuel, Martyn MellisGroup Women's Advisory Committee: Cathy Darcan, Lynn Ion, Mo Lumb, Taylor RiachLGBT Advisory Committee: Kirsty Brown, Sandra QuayleYoung Members' Advisory Committee: Rachel Ogilvie, Kris Rowe

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National Nominations

President: Janice GodrichVice Presidents: Paula Brown, Fran Heathcote, Zita Holbourne, Kevin McHughOrdinary NEC Positions: Ian Albert, Mark Baker, Clive Bryant, Martin Cavanagh, Harvey Crane, Alan Dennis, Lawrence Dunne, Mary Ferguson, Angela Grant, Jackie Green, Sam Hall, Austin Harney, John Jamieson, Mark Leopard, Neil License, Marion Lloyd, Dominic McFadden, John McInally, John Maguire, Lorna Merry, Chris Morrison, Marianne Owens, Clara Paillard, Ian Pope, Alison Roder, Candy Udwin, Karen Watts, Hector Wesley, Katrine Williams, Paul Williams Editorial Board: Sharon EdwardsTUC: Sarah Broad, Doug Campbell, Louis Kowalska, Gordon Rowntree, Dave Semple, Sarah SpencerWTUC: Ruth Henderson, Lynn Ion, Tess WarringtonYTUC: Laura Bee, Sarah SpencerSTUC: Keith Brockie, Fiona McDonald, Gordon Thompson-McLean, Steve WestYSTUC: Rebecca Barr, Sarah SpencerMember Trustree: Doreen Purvis

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Branch Annual Report 2016/17

1. Organising

After the official "switchover" period finished in 2015, branch membership was down by about 20%, which was coupled with a gradual decrease in membership levels (due to a decrease in departmental staff levels) over the last few years. Additionally, the branch had a very low number of personal case trained reps due to losing experienced reps (who had left due to various reasons such as moving to other branches, receiving promotions etc). As a result of this, the branch put together an organising plan to achieve the following things...

1. Increase branch membership levels2. Increase number of trained reps3. Ensure better demographic balance is achieved4. Fill all available Branch Executive Committee (BEC) positions5. Increase the visibility of the branch and reps inside and outside the workplace6. Train new organisers and set up an organising committee to take this work forward.

We're happy to report that this campaign has been a massive success...

1. The branch has had a gross increase in membership over around 120, with a net increase of around 75 (the majority of the difference being members who have either left the civil service, moved to OGDs or moved to offices outside of this branch). The membership density (total number of members / total number of staff at recruitable grades) has increased by around 7%, which is the largest increase since the branch was founded.2. Personal case trained reps have increased from four to twelve. Health & Safety trained reps have increased from three to seven. Union Learning trained reps have increased from one to three.3. The membership of the branch is roughly 60% female, however the percentage of active female reps was around 20% - this has now increased to just under 50%. This work is ongoing.4. This objective has been achieved, pending any changes via that 2017 elections.5. There are now established points of contact for each business area (rather than the previously centralised approach due to low rep numbers) and PCS comms should be coming out more frequently. Additionally, we've increased the number of workplace stalls and leafleting sessions, as well as having more information on notice boards etc. On top of that, the branch has organised an update meeting on the BoF campaign outside the workplace (in November) and plans to hold more meetings of this nature in 2017, as well as providing updates via the website and leafleting sessions.6. This objective has been achieved and evidence of its success is per above.

Whilst there is still a lot of work to do, there have been big strides made during 2016.

Please bear in mind that most of this work is done in reps' own time and without the dedication of these reps, the branch would be struggling to keep up with the amount of representational work we do.

Finally, the branch would like to say thanks to a number of reps who have moved on since the last AGM - Mark Fulton, David James, Catherine Somerville, Greg Houston, Andy Donnelly & Jim McKenna. Each of these reps made a significant contribution to the work of the branch - some for a short period and others for longer. In particular, Jim McKenna was the longest-serving member of the branch, as well as a long-time member of the VOAC. Jim will be a huge loss to us and as such, we would ask you all to support the Life Membership Motion for Jim that we'll move at the AGM.

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2. Industrial Issues2016 has been a big year for Industrial Issues in PCS, particularly concerning the roll-out of BoF, changes to Attendance Management policy and the the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, as well as the impact that the carriage of the Trade Union Act will have on PCS and other trade unions. Of course, despite the negative issues, there have also been industrial successes for PCS, particularly with the removal of guided distribution and other problematic aspects of PMR, the end of Pacesetter, the successful campaign to bring Concentrix work back in-house and the successful campaign to have members facing redundancy in Caledonian House, Dundee moved to Sidlaw House, Dundee (avoiding well over a hundred redundancies). In particular, we'd like to congratulate our friends and comrades in Dundee for being the first branch to seriously challenge BoF - their win shows that BoF is not nearly as inevitable as the department claims.

Whilst the wider group & national issues have been and will continue to be covered elsewhere, this report focuses on branch-related industrial issues. The most prominent of these is the closure of Irvine. As a brief bit of history, Irvine had been threatened with closure several times in the past but had previously avoided the axe. In 2012 the department announced that Irvine would become a Compliance Centre, suggesting the Irvine would be here to stay - yet the following year the department contradicted this by announcing a VR exercise. Whilst the department claimed it had no plans to close Irvine, everyone in the branch & Irvine office knew that was the intention. In 2014, the department announced a "consultation" to consider the closure of around a dozen offices, including Irvine. PCS put fed into this consultation, putting forward a strong case for the retention of the office (based on the fact that around 40 Civil Servants were generating a yield of around £17m) and indeed, the case for increasing staffing levels in Irvine. Upon closure of the consultation (the results were originally intended to be announced in early September 2014 but were delayed until just after the Scottish Independence Referendum), it was announced that every office included in the consultation would close, with Irvine staff being told that the consultation "was never intended to consider whether or not Irvine would be retained".

Subsequently, the branch worked with members in Irvine to launch Industrial Action in a bid to retain the office and save the jobs of forty staff, however when the branch filed its submission to take members out on strike, officials within PCS (after delaying as much as possible), verbally told the branch that it would be "on its own" if it tried to take Irvine members out on strike (it's important to note that the decision to authorise a strike is not taken by elected reps within PCS). The branch never received any formal response to the industrial action submission. Following this, members in Irvine realised there would be no industrial campaign and took the packages that were on offer, else they would have to leave on reduced terms at a later date.

Following this, there were four members left in Irvine who stayed on for various reasons. Legally, the department has an obligation to look at reasonable redundancy avoidance measures - the branch does not feel this was done, particularly as the members put forward reasonable redundancy avoidance measures which were dismissed out of hand. As a result, the branch put forward a second submission in 2016, which was completely ignored by PCS. At that point, the branch linked up with other branches in similar situations and used a special group meeting and subsequently, group conference to air our grievances - this resulted in a meeting with officials inside of PCS who said they would back individual submissions by branches, however by the time we were given this promise, the members in Irvine only had around one month until they were due to be made redundant, which ruled out the possibility of taking any action. The final remaining members within Irvine were made redundant on 30th June 2016. Naturally, throughout this whole period, the branch has represented members in Irvine on a one-to-one basis and whilst it would be inappropriate to go into details of this here, we can assure you that we have done everything we can to represent members in Irvine

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and will exhaust all possible avenues to settle things as well as we can for members who we feel were made redundant needlessly.

In the background, the Scottish R&C Branches have been collectively organising against the wider BoF programme - we are all of the opinion that whilst we believe there should be a national campaign over this, we cannot wait until one is forthcoming. All Scottish R&C branches have done work to increase their membership levels and have been successful in this. Similarly, the branches are all convinced that we need to ensure we move at the same pace so as to increase our chances of a successful campaign. We have all built up strong contacts with politicians & media, as well as worked with local authorities to examine the wider economic impact of office closures (in places such as East Kilbride, Cumbernauld, Bathgate, Livingstone and Dundee, where unemployment is already high and HMRC serves as a large (and in many cases the largest) employer). Similarly, the devolution of tax raising powers to the Scottish Government (and the impact this has on the block grant) is significant - HMRC will still collect this tax, however with the department sitting on a tax gap of around £119bn per annum, the department's inability to close the tax gap will now have a direct rather than indirect impact on the Scottish budget. Early work done on this, using very rough estimates, suggests that closing the "Scottish Tax Gap" in relation to devolved taxes would raise enough revenue to burst the 1% pay rise cap imposed on Civil Servants, or could be used to completely mitigate all Local Authority cuts across Scotland.

Whilst we continue to progress the campaign as outlined above, the obvious next step is to develop our industrial position. Whilst this is still at an early, you can be assured that the work is ongoing. We hope to come out to you all over the course of 2017 with more specific information. We appreciate all the support you've given us and hope to put forward a strategy soon that you'll all be happy to endorse as we progress through this campaign.

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Branch Financial Report 2016

The PCS financial year runs from Jan 1 to Dec 31.

1. IncomeThe branch's only source of income comes from PCS by way of a rebate. This year, the branch received a total rebate of £0.00, which is down from previous years. This is due to new funding allocation rules which mean that rebates will only be paid to bring the branch bank balance up to £500. The branch started 2016 with a balance of £806.11 (hence no rebate), however the closing balance for 2016 is £239.43 so we expect a rebate this year.

2. ExpenditureThis has increased marginally from £547.89 in 2015 to £566.68 in 2016. To break it down...

2.1 Branch General Meetings (B) - there are usually two of these meetings per year, being the AGM & Mandate Meeting. In previous years, before the department withdrew the right of members to attend these meetings in paid time, we would get several hundred members in attendance. However, attendances have naturally dropped since paid time was withdrawn. From the Mandate Meeting last year, the branch decided to stop booking the larger halls and book meeting rooms that are significantly smaller but free (or as low cost as possible). As such, we spent £120 on the AGM but nil on the Mandate Meeting, which is down from £246 in 2015. We expect this amount to be nil in 2017.

2.2 BEC Meetings (C) - all BEC meetings take place in Glasgow and all reps are based in Glasgow so this cost has continued to be nil.

2.3 BEC Sub-Committees (D) - we previously miscategorised committees such as the regional PT committee & regional H&S committee here (instead should have been recorded under "Branch Officers' Expenditure"). As such, this cost is nil for 2016, which shows a reduction from £106 in 2015. In real terms, this cost is nil for the last two years as all BEC sub-committees meet in Glasgow.

2.4 Branch Officers' Expenditure (E) - per the miscategorisation mentioned in the previous paragraph, the total for this in 2015 should have been £283.90, which has reduced in 2016 to £175.20. The number of regional H&S meetings has remained roughly consistent, whilst personal case spending has significantly reduced. There has been an increase in collective bargaining-related spending due to the Scottish Branches collectively bargaining RE BoF, however since conference, the GEC officially recognised the regional committee, so expenses for this dropped after conference as most funding now comes from the group. The branch can pay for observers to attend these meetings, however most of these meetings are now held in Glasgow so 2017 should see the bargaining meeting costs remaining reasonably low.

2.5 Printing, Stationery & Postage (F) - this has seen an increase from nil in 2015 to £114.50 - in the first instance, the branch paid for recruitment leaflets during 2016 (which you may well have received outside the office) and additionally, the branch had a large bill for postage as a result of having to send off a lot of conference & election related paperwork, which was significantly higher than previous years.

2.6 Other Expenditure (H) - this has increased from £17.99 in 2015 to £156.89 in 2016. The branch URL cost remained static, with the increase being due to paying for a replacement laptop charger & Wi-Fi access.

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Motion Guidance/ Standing Orders

To ensure that all motions are heard, we operate with time limits on speakers. As such, the mover of the motion gets three minutes with all other speakers getting two minutes. The mover has the right to reply to any point raised during the debate, although has to do this within a three minute limit after everyone else has spoken. Should there be a lot of discussion, the chair has discretion over how many people are called to speak - this allows the chair to ensure that the AGM hears as many views as possible on a motion, but also as many motions as possible. When each speaker has thirty seconds left, the chair will indicate this to the AGM.

All motions need to be seconded. Movers and seconders can either speak to the motion or move it "formally" - to do this, the mover or seconder just has to say "formally" and makes no other contribution to the debate (expect where a mover is exercising their right of reply).

There are two different types of motions to be discussed at the AGM. One is "branch motions" which effectively allow you to amend the branch rules & set branch policy. The other are motions to be submitted for decision at group or national conference. Where branch constitutional amendments are carried, these need to be ratified by the PCS National Executive Committee (NEC) before they can come into force.

You can vote in four ways...

For - where you support the carriage of the motionAgainst - where you oppose the carriage of the motionRemit - where you ask for the Branch Executive Committee (BEC) to consider aspects of the motion but don't outright support or oppose the motion - NB. you cannot remit a rule changeAbstain - you have the right not to vote on the motion in any way

Rule changes require a majority of at least 2/3 of voting members present at the AGM to be carried.

As mentioned above, the AGM will also be asked to vote on motions for the branch to submit to both group & national conference. Where motions are submitted to group/ national conference, they will be discussed and voted on by delegates attending each conference. In this instance, you can either vote for or against a motion, or you can abstain.

The branch chair will make a decision on the outcome of votes. This can be challenged from the floor by any attendee calling for a hand count. In this instance, two tellers appointed at the start of the AGM will count hands for each position and report to the branch chair.

Lastly, you have the right to raise points of order at any time during the debate. This will be done where either you believe these standing orders have not been followed correctly or where you believe language has been used which is inconsistent with PCS' principles. The chair will rule on these points of order.

Motions Timings per Section

Branch Motions - 20 minutesGroup Motions - 30 minutesNational Motions - 20 minutes

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Any motions not heard during the above timeslots will be heard during the guillotine section in the order they appear in this motions booklet.Branch Motions

B1. Jim McKenna (mover: Bobby Young)

That this AGM notes that Jim McKenna was recently made redundant by the VOA. Jim was a member of and an activist within PCS and its predecessor unions for 36 years, including serving 19 years on the VOAC, serving as vice-president of this branch since its inception and serving in a variety of branch positions within the various branches he was a member of since becoming active. Similarly, since Jim was made redundant, he has retained associate membership of PCS. At the time of leaving the VOA, Jim was the longest-serving rep within this branch in any capacity. Jim's experience and measured approach to Trade Union activism has helped steer the branch through a period of significant change over the past few years and as such, his contribution to the branch will be sorely missed.

This AGM instructs the BEC to award Jim with Honorary Life Membership of this branch, as well as nominating Jim for Life Membership at Group & National Level.

B2. VOA Rule Change (mover: George McIlvinney)

That this AGM recognises the difficulties faced by reps based within R&C having access to represent and organise members based within VOA Scotland. Since the merger of the R&C branches in Glasgow and Clyde with VOA Scotland, this was not an issue as the branch retained active reps in both departments, however with VOA redundancy exercises, the membership of VOA Scotland has reduced to the point where there are no now active reps within VOA Scotland and unlikely to be any in the foreseeable future. This AGM agrees that the best way to ensure continued representation of members within VOA Scotland is to separate VOA Scotland from R&C Glasgow and Clyde and furthermore to merge VOA Scotland with a nearby VOA branch.

As such, this AGM instructs the BEC to negotiate this change with the NEC and appropriate VOA branch, as well as agreeing to amend the branch constitution as follows, subject to NEC approval...

Delete B6V, B7V, B11V, B22V and B24V in their entirety

Amend B1 to read "The name of the branch shall be the PCS R&C Glasgow Branch (herein referred to as ‘the branch’)."

Amend B3 to read "All members employed within HMRC offices in Glasgow shall be deemed to be members of the branch."

Amend bullet point 3 of B14 to read "Vice President"

Delete "or VOA specific meeting" from B14B

Delete "or VOA specific meeting" from B15B

Delete the "Representatives Working In HMRC" header from B22

Amend header at B24 to read "Conference Delegates (See Appendix B)"

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Delete section 7 from Appendix A and renumber following sections accordingly

B3. Conference Delegates (mover: George McIlvinney)

That this AGM recognises the important contribution that this branch has made to both group and national conference over the years. This AGM notes that whilst delegates who attend conference do so in their own time, they also attend conference to do a job on behalf of this branch. This AGM recognises that the behaviour of conference delegates is not subject to scrutiny of branch members as no reporting mechanism currently exists and as such, agrees that this situation should be rectified.

This AGM agrees in principle that aside those delegates attending their first conference, delegates are expected to speak at conference - either through moving motions from this branch or by making interventions in other debates. Henceforth, this AGM agrees to adopt this as branch policy and agrees that this information should be included in the following year's annual report.

Additionally, this AGM instructs the BEC to add the following text to Appendix B of the branch constitution (subject to NEC ratification)...

"Aside delegates attending their first conference (in either a trainee or full delegate capacity), it is expected that all branch delegates will speak at conference, either by moving motions from this branch or by making interventions in other debates (aside in those cases where motions from this branch are guillotined or where speakers from this branch are not called).

Prior to conference, arrangement should be made between the BEC and conference delegates to ensure that all delegates are aware of which motions they are to move/ make interventions on. Subsequently, should a delegate refuse to speak at conference, this should be recorded in the following year's Annual Report so that in the case of an election for conference delegates at the AGM, branch members can make an informed decision as to they should vote for."

Group Motions

G1. Employment Tribunals (mover: Taylor Riach)

That this conference recognises the possibility of PCS facing logistical difficulties in bringing an increasing amount of cases to employment tribunal where members have been made compulsorily redundant by the department as a result of its BoF programme. Conference agrees that the best way to avoid this situation is to run a successful campaign against office closures and job losses, but that where such campaigns are unsuccessful, conference agrees in principle that every PCS member who could improve their situation by taking their redundancy to ET - and meets PCS' criteria for having their case taken to ET level - should be supported by PCS to do so. Conference notes that this motion does not seek to change extant ET processes within PCS, but simply wishes to ensure that this group is dealing with potential ET cases as efficiently as possible, so as to ensure that the aforementioned logistical difficulties are diminished to the greatest possible extent.

Conference instructs the GEC to do the following...

Produce guidance, within three months of the close of conference, outlining the processes which should be followed and detailing the preparatory work which should be done by branch reps prior to handing off cases to qualified ET specialists

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Survey branches, within three months of the close of conference, to identify the level of understanding amongst branches of ET processes and prep work that could be done at branch level

Based on survey results, consider if either all or some branches will require extra support or specific training in preparing for ETs and roll out extra support/ training as appropriate

o The GEC should have discretion over how this is implemented based on resources, the BoF timetable (and any changes to it) etc

o If training needs are identified and are covered by pre-existing training, the GEC could signpost branches to this training instead of attempting an in-house solution

Work with relevant sections of the union to ensure that a framework is in place so that ETs of the manner described in the opening paragraph can be pursued without falling foul of logistical difficulties

G2. BoF Campaign (mover: Stuart Jeffrey)

That this conference notes that HMRC has continued to implement its plans for Building Our Future, with the first wave of office closures and compulsory redundancies having now been issued. Conference also notes that to date there has yet to be any group-wide campaign launched against Building Our Future, nor have we built towards one. This is in part due to the fact that both members' and branches' attitudes towards BoF are at different stages - many feel they will not be affected by the office closure programme or that office closures are so far in the future that they haven’t got to grips with what it means for them. However, this is no excuse for a lack of a group-wide campaign, despite previous conference motions and the fact that members are already losing their jobs.

Already, some branches have run excellent campaigns supporting members and saving jobs and the GEC has helped apply political pressure, however this work needs to be stepped up and emulated in every branch across the UK. However, we cannot leave branches to fight isolated local campaigns to defend offices and let the employer divide and conquer by shutting down offices one by one. For every office that is closed, our overall strength decreases and only makes fighting the next wave of closures harder. We need the group to take a lead on fighting against BoF both politically and industrially, providing the arguments, resources and support to branches to build a campaign and to organise and recruit. Only through a unified and national campaign can we make the argument for keeping tax local and for investment for a fair and well-resourced HMRC.

Group conference instructs the GEC to launch a campaign following conference with the following demands:

No to office closures - To maintain local tax presences in our communities No compulsory redundancies, transfers or redeployment For all exit packages offered to be provided under the original terms & conditions For recruitment for additional staff to deliver a well-resourced and fair tax system.

To implement this campaign, conference further instructs the GEC as follows:

Include a BoF campaign agenda item at each GEC meeting to discuss the wider campaign and what support branches require

To identify branches or regions where practical support is desired to commence campaigns & distribute campaign packs via the regional hubs as a means of practical assistance

Monthly updates via circulars to branches

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Produce a publicly available briefing pack setting out the economic arguments against BoF including the impact of on tax collection & customer service

Use this as a tool to provide a coherent & cohesive educative plan throughout all branches, targeting those branches who believe themselves “least affected” by BoF

Continue political work with the PCS Parliamentary Group and actively seek to involve branches, reps & members in lobbying political figures

Tie the campaign for jobs and offices into the regions, including the consultation over Scottish taxation

Join up with the DWP group and other groups facing office closures to link up campaign’s where possible

G3. Record of Decisions (mover: Adrien Boyeldieu)

That this conference notes rule 6.5 of the group constitution which states...

"The Group Executive Committee shall meet at least five times a year, and a simple majority of those eligible to vote shall form a quorum. An agreed record of the decisions (with details of attendees, apologies and absentees) for each meeting of the Group Executive Committee will be published to branches within 10 weeks of the meeting being held."

Conference censures the GEC for failing to adhere to this and furthermore instructs the GEC to start adhering to this rule with immediate effect.

G4. GNT ( mover: Kirsty Brown)

That this conference recognises the need for greater transgender inclusion in the workplace. Not all people identify strictly as men or women, there are many who identify as neither or both. For people in this situation, being confronted on a daily basis with a choice between male and female toilets is a constant source of anxiety. This can lead to health problems and can make it difficult for people to maintain their working life.

By providing gender-neutral facilities alongside male and female facilities, a third option can be added without taking any existing options away.

It is important to remember that some transgender people do identify as men or women. Many have fought for the right to use the toilets specific to their gender and the addition of gender-neutral facilities should not be used as a vehicle to erode those rights. It is also important to remember that while existing accessible toilets may not specify gender, people who do not identify strictly as a man or a woman do not have a disability.

Conference instructs the GEC to work both the department and branches to ensure that all parties...

Are aware of the issue, the harm it causes, and the benefits of providing a gender-neutral option.

Understand the need for clear communication if choosing to roll-out this option to ensure that transgender staff are not prohibited from continuing to use male or female toilets if they prefer to.

Understand the need for accessible toilets to be reserved for those with actual accessibility difficulties.

Feed back successes and any further issues encountered so that these can be shared with other branches.

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National Motions

N1. Blood Donation (mover: Kirsty Brown)

That this conference notes the current legal position in the UK which bars men from donating blood if they have had sex with another man within the last year. Not only does this law restrict the pool of available blood donors, but moreso, stigmatises gay and bisexual men by reinforcing the discredited notion that HIV/ AIDS is related to homosexual activity. Thus, this conference calls upon the NEC to condemn the current legal position in the UK and lend support to campaigns which call for this backward & discriminatory legislation to be repealed.

N2. Qatar World Cup (mover: Mark Fulton)

That this conference recognises the brutal & indefensible treatment of workers employed to build stadia for the Qatar World Cup & in a broad sense, the treatment of all workers subject to the Kafala system, a system which amounts to little more than the legalised enslavement of migrant workers across the majority of Levantine & Gulf states. Whilst estimates put the migrant-worker death toll in the thousands in respect of the Qatar World Cup, this is far from the only issue. The Kafala system requires migrant workers to be sponsored, with sponsors regularly withholding workers' passports, stopping wages, denying workers' rights that most of us would take forward granted & restricting access to any sort of legal or industrial recourse - so whilst the numbers dying in the building of world cup stadia are shocking, these deaths are inevitable under such a system. As such, this conference instructs the NEC to lend PCS' weight & support to campaigns which seek to highlight & stop the abuse of workers employed to build Qatari World Cup Stadia, the wider Kafala system and do everything in PCS' power to help these workers organise against this brutal system.

N3. GRA 2004 (mover: Kirsty Brown)

That this conference recognises the huge weight the Gender Reassignment Act 2004 places upon members who wish to transition from a gender they were assigned at birth, to one they actually identify with.

This process requires people to submit large swathes of evidence to a panel for them to decide whether that person's identity should be legally recognised. Delays are built into the process by design, forcing people to live in limbo for a minimum of two years, and much of the focus is on the medical aspects of a person's transition.

All of this causes extreme anxiety and can have a detrimental effect on members' ongoing health.

Conference instructs the NEC to campaign for this legislation to be amended so that the identities of all members can be legally recognised without the need for delays, excessive paperwork, or outside interference.

N4. EA2010 (mover: Kirsty Brown)

That this conference recognises the need for adequate legal protections for members who do not strictly identify themselves as being a man or a woman.

The Equality Act 2010, while a great step forward in many ways, does not adequately provide this protection. Instead of the more inclusive term "gender identity", it focuses on "gender

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reassignment" as a protected characteristic, thereby ignoring the many people who do not want or need to undergo gender reassignment.

This means that members may face harassment and discrimination against which they have no legal recourse.

Conference instructs the NEC to campaign for this legislation to be amended so that all members are afforded the same protections under UK law, regardless of their gender identity.

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