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Despite the fact that the Standing Orders Committee had ‘X’Marked all motions that refer to Health & Safety, thereby excluding them from debate, they did accept one motion to be debated which refers to Regional Structures of the CWU: Motion 54. The terms of which were carried. Had this not been the case, the NEC would have had their wish that the Health & Safety section at Annual Conference would have been easily abolished as no motions on health and safety could be submitted by the Union’s Regional Health and Safety bodies. The importance of Motion 54 cannot be underestimated and can be seen in the context of there being a limit to the number of motions available to Branches to submit to any conference, as the speakers on the motion stated.
Despite vehement opposition from the NEC, the Branches who had submitted the motion did a great job in convincing Conference delegates to support the arguments on behalf of the future of Health & Safety within the CWU, and therefore ensuring that the motion was carried. Unlike General Conference, the Re-Design Conference was not broadcast for members to watch, so we cannot bring you the full debate. However, courtesy of Lee Fitzgerald of Cornwall Amal Branch, you can watch and listen to Tracy Rickard who urged conference to support motion 54 and continue to give the Health & Safety Community a voice at General Conference. In her excellent speech, she encompassed all of the arguments that the Save Our Safety campaign have been making over the last 6 months:
Keith Franklin from Western Counties Branch spoke on the motion as one of the moving Branches. He told Unionsafety: “Motion 54 was debated amongst branches in the South West as a way to meet the stated objectives of the redesign document of removing working in silos and to start working as a joined up union. We hope and envisage that safety committees will be the main instigators of the motions taken to conference under this rule and will raise the profile of health, safety and the environment amongst branches and national bodies alike. Western Counties remains committed to ensuring that the CWU keep health and safety at the top of its agenda.” Tracy Rickard Cornwall Amal Branch added: “As a branch we were delighted to get on board with Western Counties and Plymouth on such an important topic. The whole of the CWU Health and Safety community is behind the three CWU Branches in the composited motion 54: Plymouth and East Cornwall, Western Counties, and Cornwall Amalgamated Branch.
But, with the meeting with CWU General Secretary Dave Ward next week (28th November) which the Save Our Safety Campaign lobbied for since April's General Conference; the CWU's Regional Forum representatives ahve the opportunity to present their 21 page document calling for what was in Motion 100, and more. Unionsafety will bring you the full docuiment when made available following the meeting with the CWU's General Secretary. Source: unionsafety / CWU / Western Counties Branch / Cornwall Amal Branch
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The chances of health and safety motions and therefore CWU health and safety policy, being submitted by Branches; would have been remote. 
What it allows is a wider audience to debate important safety issues at regional level whilst maintaining the ability to influence national policy through motions to the sovereign body that is conference.
But the full commitment of the CWU to the Health, Safety and Environment necessary to defend our members heqalth at work against the appalling plans that the Tory government have for working people following Brexit; would have been embodied in the motion to the left, which was 'X' marked and therefore never debated by Re-Design Conference delegates!