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