GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2019 :: RMTnews 20 “We are definitely becoming more high profile and recognised for the work we do,” RMT Black and Ethnic Minority (BEM) advisory committee chair Glen Hart said as he opened the union’s BEM conference in Portsmouth - the biggest in recent years. The growth of the conference was also hailed by RMT general secretary Mick Cash, who stressed the union was “the sum of our parts” - but emphasised the vital work done by black and ethnic minority activists across workplaces. Praising the Southern rail guards in dispute over driver- only operation, Mr Cash said that the whole union owed them a debt of honour. “Without the struggle and the fight they’ve put in place we wouldn’t now be delivering the results we’ve got elsewhere. “We’re in a situation where the strides, the progress we’ve made can only keep going if we keep doing more of the same. We should be making sure that politicians know, that bosses know, that we as a union we aren’t going to change one iota,” he said. He also welcomed the work activists in cleaning grades had done to advance their profile in both the union and their workplaces. He said the struggle to get decent pay, terms and conditions - including free travel - would continue, but stressed the union’s ultimate objective was to get all workers back into direct employment. “That’s what our aim should be ultimately - get everyone in one company. At the end of the day [private contractors] are there, they’re making a profit out of it.” Guest speaker Unison assistant general secretary Roger McKenzie said that RMT’s record of standing up to be counted could be an inspiration for the England football team. Shortly before the conference took place, Raheem Sterling’s goal against Montenegro in a Euro 2020 qualifier was met with racist taunts. “I think what should have happened is something you’re very good at in RMT,” the Unison official said. “What should have happened is those players should have taken industrial action. They should have picked the ball up and walked off the pitch”. Mr McKenzie also warned that the fight against racism must be waged in every part of life. “It’s all too easy to think this stuff is about fascists marching down our streets,” he said. “We should get vexed about all that stuff... but it’s going on in our workplaces as well. “The only way that things change is that we stand up and demand it,” he said. These words foreshadowed many of the debates ahead. An emergency motion unanimously endorsed by delegates expressed alarm at “the horrific Islamophobic terrorist attack” on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. The motion highlighted the complicity of the right-wing press and its hateful commentators in stoking the fires of division and hate and it called for the union to step up its anti-racism activity. Mark Smith, Neasden said that racism was personal for him. “I was born in the UK and was brought in Jamaica and when I was six years old a Chinese Jamaican spat in my face. “I was never black enough for the blacks, I was never Indian enough for the Indians - I was stuck somewhere in the middle. “I’m 55 years old, and I’m kind of shocked because 55 years later, the same thing’s happening: racism,” he said. GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Black and ethnic minority members gather in Portsmouth for the biggest advisory conference for years