WINNING IN THE WEST

www.rmt.org.uk :: february 2006 :: RMTnews 5 S ince RMT members in the west of the country launched a local organising committee late last year nearly 200 new members were recruited in just two months. The committee, which covers FGW, Wessex and FGW Link TOCs, studiously went through lists and worked out where there were weak points in organisation. Having identified areas where RMT had little organisation, reps set about the task to recruit non-members and find new RMT reps to build long-term structures. The union’s organising unit also ran an introduction day earlier this month at Maritime House in south London to encourage prospective reps to stand for election and to give a boost to any new reps. National organising co-ordinator Alan Pottage said that the union’s recruitment strategy was starting to kick in and strength on the ground was starting to grow. “We have pumped a lot of resources into the hands of activists and every assistance is being given to make this a success. “It's great seeing activists getting stuck in like they have all had a major boost. “It just goes to show that we have a huge number of committed activists,” he said. In the latest stage of the campaign, over 30 workers attended a special meeting near Paddington station to establish an active RMT organisation to cover all workers at the terminal. The meeting resolved to elect branch officials and give full support to new reps. Assistant General Secretary Pat Sikorski said he was delighted to see so many members turn up at the meeting to discuss building a strong RMT presence at Paddington. “Many activists joined forces with the organising unit and spent a week speaking to workers and recruiting, which is excellent news for the workforce,” he said. Organising for the future RMT is the fastest growing union in Britain. The bigger it gets, the better it can protect and improve pay, pensions and working conditions. To back up the vital recruitment work done by reps, the union holds regional organising weeks around the country, and all RMT reps and activists are welcome to get involved. The weeks are followed up with a one-day RMT course open to new and less- experienced reps and to anyone considering becoming a rep. Week starting... March 13, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, contact Gerry Hitchen on 07834 088 305 or g.hitchen@rmt.org.uk April 17, Northwest and North Wales, contact Rob Conlin, 07917 226 888, or r.conlin@rmt.org.uk April 24, Scotland, contact Donald Graham, 07753 748 074 or d.graham@rmt.org.uk May 22, Southeast, contact Carolyn Siddall, 07917 635 818 or c.siddall@rmt.org.uk June 5, Scotland, contact Donald Graham June 19, Southwest and Wessex, contact Alan Pottage, 07734 088 305 or a.pottage@rmt.org.uk July 17, South Wales and Southwest, contact Rob Conlin August 21, Northeast, contact John Milligan, 07753 748 147 or j.milligan@rmt.org.uk September 4, Scotland, contact Donald Graham September 18, London and Anglia, contact Carolyn Siddall. For more information on RMT’s organising strategy see pages 18/19 WINNING IN THE WEST ORGANISING: (left to right) Maureen Mulligan (2nd Stage rep), Danny Munn (prospective rep), AGS Pat Sikorski and relief regional organiser Brian Whitehead scrutinising membership lists during the week-long campaign.