WOMEN AT THE AGM

RMTnews :: june 2005 24 Women account for just over 10 per cent of RMT’s membership and will make up five per cent of delegates at the AGM this year, three out of 61. Transport statistics for 2003 revealed that a third of “employees in all transport and related industries and services are women”, so there is still a lot of recruitment to be done before the RMT’s membership profile reflects the composition of the workforce the union represents. It is not only the number of women in the union that could be improved. Recently, concern has been expressed about the level of women members’ participation in the union and it has been recognised that RMT must engage with and utilise its women members in the workplace and its own structures. ACTION At last year’s AGM a resolution proposing a study of women RMT members was carried unanimously. As a result, the RMT commissioned a study using surveys, questionnaires, interviews and comparisons with other unions, which it hopes will identify the reasons for the low level of participation. There will be a report with recommendations and guidelines for a programme of action. In addition, branches are to be asked what they are doing to encourage their women members to become actively involved in the union, so that ‘best practice’ can be shared and developed. In the meantime, RMT News caught up with the three women elected as delegates to this year’s AGM, and asked them what they expected bearing in mind that it is a first for all of them. JULIE COONEY Julie Cooney is a Senior Conductor on Central Trains and a member of Birmingham Rail Branch. She attended her first branch meeting in 2002 because she was angry. “Once again, my tights had been laddered whilst doing my duties. “We wear tights as part of our uniform and I couldn’t afford to keep replacing them as they were damaged by the poor conditions on the train,” she says. She kept on attending branch meetings and her persistence finally paid off in 2004, when the Central Trains pay deal included twelve pairs of tights per year for female train crew. By this time, Julie had attended the 2002 Train Crew grades conference, where she proposed that conductors be issued with mobile phones. This too has been implemented, so, as Julie says, “I know, if we try, we can make a difference.” Julie decided to stand for election to the AGM because, over the last year, she has felt increasingly that the rail industry’s uncertain future makes the union more and more important. “No-one knows what will be happening to our jobs and what the new franchises will bring, but I don’t want management to walk all over me or my colleagues,” says Julie. She says that the AGM has a lot of resolutions this year that need support. “I feel that this is going to be a pivotal moment in RMT history and I want to be part of that,” she says. Julie is also a bit daunted at the prospect of being a newcomer. However, she is certain about the role that women can play in the union. “The RMT is still very male- orientated and we are humoured most of the time by the men. “But change will come and I know I am just as good and committed as any man and my gender should not be an issue,” she says. A WOMAN’S PLACE IS AT HER AGM Three women delegates will be attending this year’s Annual General Meeting in Exeter this month, they spoke to RMT News about what to expect Mary Dwyer Michelle Rodgers