PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Well what a great month as your national president. Attending the annual general meeting at the end of June was a real pleasure on every level from dealing with grade conference resolutions to the difficult appeals I would like to thank everyone involved in showing respect and comradeship to each other throughout the week. It was also a real pleasure see our own young members taking an interest in their union as their fresh open honest approach is what will make our union grow from strength to strength. I will again take the opportunity to thank the branches, but most of all the reception committee for the welcome and entertainment provided, and of course all the work which comes from head office to ensure the week is professional and well prepared for, thank you to everyone who was involved. It was also Durham Miners weekend filled with high spirits and solidarity from across the trade union movement where I always leave with new friends, even the rain could not dampen spirits of the crowd and great speeches from the main stage with a mention of two great stalwarts of the trade union movement Myrtle Macpherson and Billy Elliot whom have now sadly passed away. Myrtle during the miners’ strike would cook dinners for 800 plus miners on a daily basis and our very own Billy who was part of the RMT Fishburn brass band and I had the pleasure of walking beside whilst leading the parade at Durham Miners gala both will be greatly missed. We also had our Cuba garden party, which always has a great turn out and this year was no different, but we also lost Jake Black from Alabama 3, and I paid tribute to him at the Cuban night before the band played another huge loss to the union. I was also honoured to have been with our LGBT+ members standing shoulder to shoulder to raise awareness and achieve true equality in the world we all live in without discrimination and violence but for dignity and equality for self- affirmation something I believe is a right as a human. And not something that happens only when we celebrate pride and so our union will continue to fight until we achieve our aim. United we are stronger, together we will win. Solidarity Michelle President’s column A GREAT MONTH RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2019 :: RMTnews 23 the RMT’s parliamentary group – which primarily consists of Labour MPs – to fight for the abolition of CPC training in the next Labour government. Delegates also voted to instruct the RMT’s parliamentary group to negotiate a way to influence their colleagues so that law can be enacted that can ensure the reimbursement of HGV drivers’ costs, including medical costs and the renewal of driving licenses and Digi- Card renewals. INTERGENERATIONAL UNFAIRNESS An emergency motion by London and Anglia Regional Council welcomed a House of Lords report published in April on intergenerational unfairness, and criticised the conduct of successive governments in not helping out young people with housing, proper apprenticeships, decent employment rights and education. However, it also pointed out that government attacks on the state pension, free bus passes for pensioners, and the abolition of free TV licenses for the over 75s “perpetuate the lie that millions of retirees and living in luxury”. Conference therefore demanded that the TUC General Council review this report and to work with retired organisations like the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) to unite both young and old against the government. Swansea delegate Mandy Evans said: “Everything for this generation is on the downturn. Solutions are needed for this. “The people making these decisions have no idea how much they affect people’s lives. “I would like some of these people to live for one day with working class people to see the results of the decisions they make on society.”