CAMPAIGNING FOR WOMEN

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april/may 2014 :: RMTnews 26 T he 2014 RMT Women’s National Conference was held in Glasgow in the early spring and was chaired by Tracy Smith from the union’s National Women’s Advisory Committee. Two major motions were passed and were selected for submission to the Union’s Annual General Meetings. The first one was on Domestic Violence and had been placed on the agenda by the London Underground Central Line East Branch on the subject of Domestic Violence. The motion recognised the continuing work that union was engaged in on domestic violence and set out to expose the myths and misrepresentations that are rife in the main-stream medias portrayal of the subject. Setting out the facts as compiled by Women’s Aid, the motion laid out a four point action plan committing the union to: • Circulating the facts about domestic violence • Continuing the support for the work of Women’s Aid • Pressing employers to adopt RMT’s model domestic violence policy • Arranging special training courses for union reps at every level. The second motion agreed for submission to the AGM was on the subject of challenging sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace from the Central West Branch. Referring back to RMT’s 2011 Sexism at Work Survey, the resolution called for increased support, through designated and trained contacts, for women experiencing harassment and assault. Best practice could be promoted through the use of guidelines which would include but not be limited to: • Every rep trained in issues around sexism, sexual harassment and sexual assault as part of their core training • Every branch to have a key contact who is trained in all stages of the process including involving management and the police. • Every workplace to have a key contact to offer support and advice in confidence. A motion on Maternity Leave, tabled by the union’s North Clyde Branch, was also approved. The motion mapped out a series of measures aimed at taking the union towards the goal of 52 weeks of full paid maternity leave for all women, starting with a programme of pressure on employers through the negotiating and pay bargaining machinery and also involving RMT’s parliamentary group in applying political pressure. Further motions approved included a tribute to Jennie Burden who was the first women to join the NUR in 1915, and it was thanks to her lead that six months later more than 2000 women had joined the union. With 2015 being the centenary of Jennie joining the union it was proposed that an event be held to celebrate her ground-breaking role in bringing women into the NUR. The motion, from Blackpool And Fylde branch was approved, as was a motion calling on the union to challenge the use of sexualised imagery in publications. CAMPAIGNING FOR WOMEN TUC WOMEN’S DELEGATION Left to right, Ann Joss, Esme Bradbury, Paulette Ford, Mary Jane Herbison, Christine Willett, Carol Foster, Tracy Smith, Millie Apedo-Amah, Deborah Rios-Alonso, Janet Cassidy