These pages bring you the best of the debates and policy making on Health, Safety Welfare and Environmental issues and those with a 'cross-over lement within the subject matter of the motion; from the Union's General Conference, being held this week at the Bournemouth International Conference Centre in, of course; Bournemouth.
Motion 1
Conference recognises that “period poverty” has existed for
generations across the United Kingdom.
In recent newspaper articles, reports
have found that girls have been missing school to deal with their period within
the confines of their own homes, and women have been using alternative
materials, including “newspapers” and “socks” because they simply cannot
afford to pay for sanitary products. Not only does this raise questions about the
impacts on girl’s education but it also highlights the serious threats to women’s
health.
Whilst conference welcomes the Labour parties promise to invest £10m to
ending "period poverty" in schools in England, more needs to be done to help
vulnerable women and girls on low incomes who sit outside the parameters of
the educational system.
Conference notes that in July this year, The Scottish government's pilot project
designed to tackle "period poverty" was introduced offering free sanitary
provisions to women and girls on low incomes. Conference welcomes this
progression and recognises that this may be the first step to help provide
sensitive and dignified solutions to make these products easily accessible to
those who need them.
Conference agrees that we need to end period poverty and improve access to
sanitary products right across the country. Therefore the NEC are instructed to
campaign for pilot schemes in other regions of the country and lobby ministers
and all relevant bodies for a consultation Member's Bill proposal that will seek
to give all women in United Kingdom the right to access these products for free,
regardless of their income.
Women’s Conference
Motion Was Carrried
Motion 2
Conference notes with concern the increasing number of
reports in the media about the rise of mental health issues in children in the UK.
A report by the Association of School and College Leaders' (ASCL) in 2017 found
that over the past five years:
. 79% of heads saw an increase in self-harm or suicidal thoughts among
students.
. 40% reported a big rise in cyber-bullying
. 53% of those who had referred a pupil to Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services (CAMHS) rated them poor or very poor.
. Overall, 80% of respondents wanted to see CAMHS expanded in their area.
Conference believes that this issue must be addressed as a matter of urgency
and the Trade Unions need to lead the fight in improving access to mental
health support for children. Conference therefore instructs the NEC to work with
other likeminded unions and the DAC to campaign for improved provision for
young people’s mental health services.
Disability Conference
Motion Was Carrried
Motion 10
Conference believes that the NHS, which is 70 years
old this year, is the single biggest gain for working people and must be
defended.
The enormous crisis in the NHS has been created by years of Tory underfunding
and privatisation which has resulted in massive staff shortages and resulting in
increasing workloads.
PFI is a huge drain on resources but a source of bumper profits for big business
- over the next five years, almost £1bn of taxpayer funds will go to PFI
companies in the form of pre-tax profits.
Conference further believes that the
Government’s Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) are a further
vicious cuts offensive NHS workers have been part of the public sector pay
freeze, while many have been outsourced into private sector profiteers.
Conference salutes last year’s struggle of outsourced workers such as those in
Barts NHS Trust in East London, working for SERCO.
Conference instructs the NEC to:
. Campaign in the CWU to encourage members to get involved in both
national and local campaigns to save the NHS.
. Call on the TUC to demand that the unions call a national Saturday
demonstration to fight Tory NHS cuts.
.Calls for a future Labour Government to take outsourced workers back
into the NHS, reverse all health cuts with a massive increase in funding
and investment, ends and reverses privatisation, including cancelling all
PFI contracts and takes the pharmaceutical companies into public
ownership.
Coventry
Motion Was Carrried
Motion 17
On Monday 10 September 2012 a coach bound for
Liverpool carrying 53 people from the Bestival music festival on the Isle of
Wight, left the road and crashed into a tree instantly killing Michael Molloy (18),
Kerry Ogden (23) and the coach driver, Colin Daulby (63), and left others with
life changing injuries.
The inquest into the crash found that the front nearside
tyre which was actually older than the coach itself, at 19 years, was responsible
for the crash. In 2014, Liverpool City Council unanimously agreed a motion in
support of Michael’s mother Frances, calling for a change in the law requiring a ban on tyres older than six years on commercial vehicles.
Despite the wide
spread public and political support for this campaign, no change in the law has
been made, shamefully leaving others at risk from faulty and dangerous tyres.
Conference notes that Frances Molloy has launched “Tyred” – the official
campaign to pressure Government – to change the law to ban the use of tyres
older than ten years on commercial vehicles.
Conference wholeheartedly supports “Tyred” and instructs the NEC to write to
the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to call together cross-party
support for a change in the law.
Conference further instructs the NEC to support the “Tyred” campaign until such
a change in the law is achieved.
Mersey
Motion Was Carrried
Motion 42
Conference welcomes the Assaults on Emergency
Workers (Offences) Bill 2017-19 which will reach the report stage on Friday 27
April.
So Conference instructs the NEC to work with Health & Safety Dept. & likeminded
organisations to include all utilities workers and those where the CWU is
recognised in order to get them better protection from employers on the
implementation of this Bill.
North East Regional Health and Safety Forum
Motion was Carried
Motion 44
Conference instructs the NEC to campaign with all businesses where we
have CWU members, like BT & Royal Mail
Group, to see that all Dog
legislation comes under one singular law.
As the present 11 pieces of legislation hinder prosecutions or claims for
our members, this to be achieved with the assistance of the CWU Safety
Dept.
Eastern No.5
Eastern Regional Health and Safety Forum
Motion was Carried
Motion 63
Conference congratulates the CWU Education
Department on the introduction of the successful Mental Health Awareness
training course for Reps.
There is widespread recognition across the CWU that this training would be of
great benefit to all CWU Reps at all levels and should be made available on as
wide a basis as possible.
Conference instructs the NEC to work with the Education Department to bring
about this training for all. The aspiration should be that the training as far as
possible would attract release in line with other CWU Training Courses.
Scotland Regional Committee
Motion was carried
Motion 64
Conference instructs the NEC to work with the Health &
Safety Dept that “Mental Health First Aid “Tutors are trained in order to
cascade this valuable 2-day course & the half Day Awareness course out in the
Regions “, furthermore they are instructed to achieve “release “for this course
with the employers where we have recognition, this to be achieved by
Conference 2019.
York and District Amal
Motion went to a Card Vote
Motion was carried
Motion was not carried
Motion 69
This conference believes that the CWU has undertaken some excellent
work at branch, regional and national level in relation to raising
awareness of mental health and its impact on individuals, the
workplace and society in general. This conferences notes that the
Union:
* has over a number of years, through annual conference motions,
committed to work with an increasing number of charities and
organisations
* has a number of joint initiatives with employers eg. Royal Mail
and British Telecom
* has trained a number of people as Mental Health First Aiders and
others who have attended awareness courses
* issues a large amount of information to Branches
* has an increasing demand for information, advice, guidance and
training
This conference believes that the impact of growing mental health
issues on CWU members requires a comprehensive “CWU Mental health
Strategy (CWU MHS).
The NEC is therefore instructed to work with the
Young Workers National Committee and other appropriate
Departments, with a vested interest, e.g. Health and Safety and
Equality, to assist in developing such a strategy which should consider
the following:
* developing a working relationship with a small number of
organisations/charities to assist in developing and executing the
strategy. This should not prevent working with other
organsiations/charities particularly where there is a need for
specialist expertise
* a joined up training programme
* ensure the most effective methods of communicating with
branches, reps and members on issues of building awareness and
encouraging openness
* support for Reps who are impacted through dealing with
members who have mental health issues
* support for Reps effected by the increasing stress of the job
* put in place measures to ensure that the “strategy” is operating
efficiently and effectively.
This list is not exhaustive.
South East No.5
Eastern Regional Committee
Motion was carried unanimously