SUCCESS IN INVERNESS

www.rmt.org.uk :: october 2007 :: RMTnews 17 Once again another successful conference, The Branch and Regional Secretaries Conference was held in The Beaufort Hotel in Inverness. General secretary Bob Crow was in attendance with some 30 delegates from all over the country. On Saturday night a civic reception was held in the Town House Inverness with civic dignitaries in attendance, we were welcomed to the City of Inverness by Cllr Jim Gray the leader of the Labour Group of the Highland Council. The general secretary thanked Cllr Gray for the reception given to conference delegates in such elegant surroundings. He also remarked that the Council Chambers of Inverness are one of a few places the British Cabinet have met outside of Westminster. Bob gave out 10 year badges to Inverness branch secretary Bob Bowie and branch chair George McIvor Chair and thanked both members for the excellent work they do in their area. Conference proceeded with president Peter Daniels welcoming all to Inverness and the Civic authorities for the reception in the Town House. Guest speakers included Alan Pottage of the Organising Unit, Nicky Hoarau of the RMT Credit Union, Ian McIntyre, Scottish Regional Organiser and, of course, our lawyers, Angus McPherson of Drummond Miller and Malcolm Cherry of Edwards Duthie. Next year’s conference will be in Chester – Look forward to seeing you there. Nearly two hundred delegates representing over 30 unions gathered at Congress House for the annual TUC disability conference recently. Delegates held a protest outside conference to protest against government plans to shut 43 Remploy factories providing skilled work for over 2,300 disabled workers. The TUC congress in Brighton also supported the campaign and called on the government to place a moratorium on the closures. Remploy was set up in 1946 to provide work for disabled ex-servicemen. Today, it receives an annual grant from the government to fund training, development and the finding of employment for disabled people. However, Remploy shop stewards were called to a meeting on May 22 to be told that the factories would be closed. At the same time the workers were shown a video telling them that they would be sacked, sparking protests from the GMB union which represents them. GMB representative Les Woodward told the disability conference that directors which had been appointed by the government had over 200 company cars and better pension schemes than employees. He compared the dispute to the great miner’s strike of 1984. “They come for the big ones first and, if that goes, all the others go the same way,” he said. TUC deputy general secretary Francis O’Grady told the disability conference that the TUC gave full support to the campaign. She said that some thought that unions were not interested in the disabled but this was not true. SUCCESS IN INVERNESS Jim Philps reports on the annual RMT branch secretaries conference, this year in Inverness TUC DISABILITY CONFERENCE PROTESTS AGAINST REMPLOY CUTS Paul Southwood reports from the TUC disability conference which condemned plans to shut 43 Remploy factories