ORGANISING IN FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: october 2021 :: RMTnews 13 Delegates gathered in Middlesbrough for the first in- person RMT National Industrial Organising Conference since the Covid-19 lockdown. After the 2020 conference was completely cancelled due to the pandemic there was a sense of relief for many delegates to once again be able to meet with freight and logistics comrades face-to- face. Conference secretary Andy Hill opened the conference and dealt with the formalities before electing new officers to lead the conference organising in 2022. There were updates from lead officer Daren Ireland, national executive committee member Paul McDonnell and Alan Pottage from organising unit. There was recognition of the essential role of workers in the freight and logistics sector and the vital role they have played in keeping food and medical supplies moving across the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic. Daren Ireland highlighted the fact that there had not been a single redundancy across the sectors RMT organises in since the pandemic began. Paul McDonnell provided an update from the NEC on the resolutions that were passed at the last conference held in 2019. There was a strong determination from delegates to organise freight workers across their industries and to grow the conference and ultimately build and develop a new organising strategy. Since 2017 RMT’s freight membership has grown by 10 per cent and RMT was one of the few unions to grow during the Covid-19 pandemic. Alan Pottage spoke about how the organising unit is looking at ‘multi-model organising’ - where mobile teams of RMT activists can target freight workers from sea, rail and road during same campaign. The intention is to set up a national organising committee to focus on freight workers and to facilitate activists from conference physically leading the efforts to organise. RMT’s national Organising strategy promotes a more methodical approach to organising where workplaces are mapped to develop strategic plans. These plans focus on recruitment of non- members, identified from mapping, as well as retaining existing members. Alan highlighted how RMT builds organisation around activist reps and the need to prioritise the importance of having elected reps in each and every workplace.  This conference was held under the spectre of a worsening supply chain crisis and there was some frank but useful debate about industrial solutions to the crisis including campaigning to end the mandatory CPC Training for lorry drivers. A number of key resolutions were moved, debated and passed including one on a road freight driver strategy moved by Wishaw and Motherwell branch which called on the union to address “the longstanding issues if low pay, long hours and poor working conditions”. The conference closed with delegates declaring that they would rise to the challenge, organise within the freight and logistics sector and build membership alongside activity which will also see the conference itself grow. The next conference is scheduled to be held in April 2022 with further details to be circulated in due course. ORGANISING IN FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS Freight members debate the ongoing crisis in the logistics sector and organising workers