BLACK AND ETHNIC MEMBERS SET THE AGENDA

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april/may 2014 :: RMTnews 27 RMT’s national black and ethnic minority conference meeting in Birmingham called for action on deaths in custody in the wake of the recent inquest into the death of Tottenham resident Mark Duggan. The call follows an inquest jury‘s recent ruling that police acted lawfully when they shot Duggan, even though he had not been carrying a gun when he was killed. Delegates called for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to be replaced with a new independent body capable of investigating institutionalised racism. Glenroy Watson called for the union to support the RMT London Transport Regional Council’s Black Solidarity Committee working with the United Family and Friends campaign group so that the issue of deaths in custody can be publicised. “We are part of the community as a trade union, and we need to play our part,” he said. Guest speaker TUC president Mohammad Taj thanked RMT for the work it had done on international issues, especially most recently around Palestine. Taj, who works in the transport industry as a bus driver, talked about the problems of the racism that he first encountered in workplace in the 1970s when he first worked in Bradford as a bus conductor. He said that while there is still a long way to go in combatting racism, including in the trade union movement itself, he believes that significant progress has been made over recent decades. “I arrived in England unable to speak English but reached the highest level of the movement,” he said. Guest speaker, Bob Woods, from the organisation, Work Stress, told conference about the problems that stress can lead to in the workplace, emphasising that stress is not an illness in itself. Outlining the work of his organisation he told conference that the usual issues in a workplace that cause stress can be compounded by racism and sexism. In one of the last speaking engagements before his untimely death, Bob Crow led a general discussion on the Labour Party and said that the fact that no major party would repeal the anti-trade union laws shows that we need a new party of labour rooted in trade unions and local communities. He explained why RMT is opposed to the European Union and called for members to vote No2EU in the euro elections on May 22 under the slogan Yes to Workers’ Rights. “We are opposed to the EU because it attacks workers. “UKIP scapegoat people and support the same privatisation and liberalisation agenda as the EU,” he said. “No2EU supports renationalisation and international solidarity,” he said. BLACK AND ETHNIC MEMBERS SET THE AGENDA Conference calls for action on deaths in custody and to combat racism