he national organising

T he national organising conference of supervisory, clerical and other salaried grades conference president Willie Strang opened the meeting by commenting on how reps and activists had adapted to the Coronavirus which had changed working lives so much. He also commented on the new technology which had been brought to the fore which was being used for the conference and its uses in the workplace. A Dover District General Grades branch motion pointed out that pandemic was still with us and the fights to come would be some of the greatest ever seen. Conference secretary Ross Marshall, spoke of the various reports of attacks on railway staffing and that station grades would be in the front line of that attack. A way to combat these attacks was for some joined up thinking from both conferences and he outlined what was happening with monthly meetings of delegates and he invited everyone to join them in these meetings going forward. National President Michelle Rodgers said that the bosses were using the cloak of the pandemic to find new and innovative ways to attack staff but we must stand up collectively and be ready to fight. RMT assistant general secretary Steve Hedley continued that it was important to be organised in preparation for the attacks and that, as key workers who had kept the country going, deserved better than losing our jobs or no pay rise. Organising unit manager Alan Pottage led a session on effective organising to raise the density of membership and protect jobs that will face attacks. During the Q&A which followed the issue of GDPR was discussed and how these could perhaps cause hinderance to organising. National Executive Committee member Ian Allen clarified the issue by saying that before we use third party organisations we must ensure that safeguards are in place for compliance with GDPR and advice should be sought from Unity House if there is any doubt. A further two resolutions associated with concerns around Job protection were discussed and Wishaw & Motherwell delegate Davie Hainey said that automation was giving management a golden opportunity to replace staff. Andy Budds, Leeds City saidd that you may well be able to replace staff but you cannot replace passengers who will still be travelling and when things go wrong with automated things staff are required to fix them and these staff must be able to offer identical products to what is available on-line and through apps. A motion from Edinburgh No 1 called for the union to work collaboratively with the Rail Industry Recovery Group to ensure that staff numbers are maintained and any efficiencies come from the profits. Mike Sargent, Dover District reminded conference that it was government money being used to hold up franchises and that this should be used towards the earnings of staff and not go into the pockets of shareholders. Del Docherty, Kings Cross warned of the disregard for timescales being demonstrated by management and said that when he had been approached regarding making changes to some company policies, he had stated that he would only discuss them when management adhered to timescales within current policies. RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2021 :: RMTnews 15 CLERICAL GRADES MEET BY ZOOM