RMT AT LGBT TUC

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2019 :: RMTnews 22 M y name is David O'Donnell, employed by Network Rail as a Boundary Inspector in Edinburgh Delivery Unit. I am the local Health and Safety Rep and RMT Equality Rep. I started on the railway in May 2001 as a contractor, eventually becoming full-time in 2002. I've always struggled with numbers and process, and in February 2018, at the age of 52, was diagnosed with Dyscalculia*. This was after having a referral from physiological report via my employer. I went on a journey to get this diagnosis. After having worked with paper reports for years, in 2016 my employer introduced iPads and I was failing miserably with using them. It was so much easier to rub out a mistake or Tipp-ex a wrong piece of info than to follow Ctrl Alt Del on the iPad. My work was now laid out and duplicated and it did not correspond with what I was inspecting. It was so different on the iPad to what I had been doing for years. Added to this, I was working alone. I had a problem and informed my manager that I was struggling with stress, anxiety and low mood. I then sought support through a referral to Occupational Health. That didn't really help that much, although I was taken off safety-critical duties for several months. Eventually, after a further physiological referral, it was decided that I would be referred for a Dyscalculia assessment, which came back positive. I haven't really had the adjustments that I thought I could have. I have agreed to try different processes with limited success. But I have created an awful lot more awareness of this condition by becoming involved in help groups such as the employee-run network Can Do (advising disabled employees). I am excelling in other ways though, including a sponsored hair and beard shave, a volunteer tour guide for all things railway, and joining RMT’s Disabled Members’ Advisory Committee My impairment isn't stopping me or holding me back. * Dyscalculia is a neurological condition associated with difficulties in understanding and manipulating mathematics but strengths in acquiring language. It can be thought of as 'dyslexia with numbers'. R MT sent a full delegation to the TUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans + conference. There were a wide range of topics discussed throughout the two days including harassment awareness and training, full access for all to PrEP, LGBT+ rights around the world, LGBT+ asylum seekers, Trans rights and many more. There were some fantastic speakers including Maria Exall, Chair of the TUC LGBT+ Committee and Dr S Chelvan who spoke on LGBT+ asylum seekers. RMT member Alex Grant spoke on the motion on LGBT+ inclusive sexual harassment awareness training and Georgie Duane spoke on tackling LGBT+ hate crime and Trans rights. John Shackleford spoke on the RMT motion on outlawing LGBT+ ‘Cure Therapy’. This was well supported by several other speakers from other unions who also spoke in favour of our motion. The emergency composite on tackling LGBT+ hate crime was voted to go to the TUC Congress later in the year. RMT AT LGBT PRIDE: RMT's delegation to the annual LGBT TUC conference DISABLED MEMBERS SPEAK OUT