LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER MEMBERS MEET IN BELFAST

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: july/august 2010 :: RMTnews 25 This year’s RMT Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) members’ conference was held in Belfast. General secretary Bob Crow made the opening address and warned that the election of a Tory-led government carried both economic and social dangers as the old-school Thatcherites, still deeply embedded in the fabric of the Conservative Party, flexed their muscles. Bob talked about the range of industrial and political struggles that the union is engaged in and told the conference that RMT as a whole has a huge amount to learn from its LGBT membership. “You know all about discrimination and about organising and standing together to fight for your rights. “That’s a lesson that you can pass on to the rest of us as we enter the difficult days that we know lie ahead under this ConDem government,” he said. President Alex Gordon picked up the theme, warning the delegates that all the progress that had been made over the years on LGBT issues was now under threat. “There is no question that in many workplaces serious progress has been made and that the same is true within the ranks of the union itself. “That progress is down to the sheer hard work of activists like yourselves. “With the election of this new government, and looking at the track record on equalities issues of the Home Secretary Theresa May, we have to be on the look out for any moves to roll back the gains that have been made and we have to be ready to campaign hard to block any attempts to turn back the clock,” he said. Alex also opened up a discussion on improving communications and on encouraging more LGBT members to take an active role in the union. There were a range of suggestions including more regular features in RMT news and a stronger web presence and there was a warm welcome for the first issue of “Standing Proud” – the quarterly national newsletter from the LGBT advisory committee. Delegates discussed the opportunity to make a greater use of “RMT Junction” – RMT’s own social networking site, and to ensure that more activists and members knew about the Junction project and signed up to it. Donald Graham from the Organising Unit led off a session on building membership and the activist base and using selective advertising in targeted press and at targeted events to get the positive RMT trade union message out to the wider LGBT community. RMT equalities officer Pat Wilkinson took the conference through the diary of Pride events this year that the union will be taking a presence at and encouraged everyone to play a full part in ensuring that RMT has the highest possible profile. The conference finished on a positive note with delegates noting the good level of attendance and the positive discussions that will be fed into the national advisory committee through re-elected Chair Adrian Rowe and his colleagues. LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER MEMBERS MEET IN BELFAST