DISABLED MEMBERS UNITE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may/junel 2024 :: RMTnews 22 Delegates to this year’s packed disabled members advisory conference heard RMT assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey open conference with a message of unity and solidarity. “When we stand together, we are an unstoppable force and we have been fighting for over one hundred years. “One of the things we achieved recently was to get cancer exempt from managing for attendance at Network Rail. “This is what this union does day-in day-out because we do not let fear get in the way of defending our members,” he said. Conference chair Tomas Bisset re-iterated this message with his opening remarks announcing: “our unity is our strength”. Guest speaker Dave Kelly of Daisy Inclusive UK told delegates that 40 per cent of the population at any point faced disabilities of some sort. Daisy Inclusive enabled vulnerable people and their families to reach their true potential through sport and physical activities and advice and guidance. “As a disabled person myself, I know that sometimes we don’t show off enough about what we do and what we can do but we all have the potential to reach our targets,” he said. Campaigner and wheelchair user Mik Scarlet addressed delegates about the need to change attitudes towards people with disabilities and outlined the social model for disability. “Disabled people need to embrace it as it truly allows us to have a louder voice than ever before. It gives us that ability to speak together, because whatever our impairment, our experience of being disabled is the same, and with that combined voice we become too large a group to ignore,” he said. Faye Wright, Exeter Rail said that cancer was a trade union issue as can make it difficult for people to earn a living. “Cancer at the point of diagnosis is covered as the protected characteristic of Disability, Equality Act 2010. DISABLED MEMBERS UNITE RMT’s disabled members conference in Liverpool deals with cancer in the workplace