`Disability Awareness Week will commence from Monday 23rd November until 27th November.
The helpline number for the week is 02089717238 calls will be taken directly by my office and then allocated onto our advisors who consist of members of the Disability & Special Needs Advisory Committee (DSNAC).
About Me
- Linda Roy
- Lifetime commitment to the trade union and labour movement. Been local workplace and national CWU representative and held many other positions in the CWU. TUC accredited tutor and disability champion. Former Labour town councillor and town Mayor.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
CWU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Conference Saturday 21st November 2009
The CWU LGBT Advisory Committee are holding this years LGBT Conference in Bristol, on the 21st November 2009.
The Conference will take place at the Novotel Bristol Centre, Victoria Street Bristol BS1 6HY.
I look forward to seeing you there.
The Conference will take place at the Novotel Bristol Centre, Victoria Street Bristol BS1 6HY.
I look forward to seeing you there.
Friday, 13 November 2009
2010 TUC Women's Conference
For all women delegates attending the TUC Women's Conference the conference will be held in the Floral Hall Winter Gardens Compton Street, Eastbourne. From Wednesday 10th March to Friday 12th March 2010. The conference will begin on Wednesday 10th March at 2.00pm and close at 5.30pm. It will recommence on Thursday 11th at 9.30 am and close at 5.30 pm. On Friday 12 March, Conference will open at 9.15 am and finish business no later than 1.00pm
International Diabetes Day 14th November 2009
International Diabetes day is the 14th November 2009. I have put together a fact sheet on Diabetes and this is being sent out with an LTB, we will also be putting the fact sheet on the web site.
STUC Womens Conference in Dundee
On Monday 9th November I went to Dundee for the STUC Womens 82 conference. Pauline Rourke was chairing the conference on behalf of the women's committee and I am proud to say Pauline is a CWU Branch official. Cathy Newall, Joyce Stevenson, Helen Olgilvie, Ann Ferry, Liz Dunlope, Morag Rose and myself were all delegates on behalf of the CWU. Pauline gave her welcome speech and did a magnificent job of chairing the conference. Morag Rose moved the the motion on the Post Bank and there was unanimous support for our motion. Joyce Stevenson moved a motion on Performance Management she also spoke on flexible working and I got up and spoke on the equality bill pushing for our equality representatives to be afforded the same rights as Health and Safety representatives.
One of the most concerning pieces of information the conference was given was that children now wear bands on their wrist to indicate how sexually active they are and each colour they wear indicates at what stage they are active. Parents please be aware.
One of the most concerning pieces of information the conference was given was that children now wear bands on their wrist to indicate how sexually active they are and each colour they wear indicates at what stage they are active. Parents please be aware.
Eastern & London Regions Joint Annual Equality Seminar
On Friday 6th November I attended the Eastern & London Regions joint annual equality seminar. I told the seminar that as a union we use every forum to push for are equality representatives to have release time and the same rights as health and safety representatives. I also highlighted how women were not being treated equally and ethnic minorities are not represented in the higher echolones, how the disabled workers are being targeted. "They are being singled out and taken off duties which have been adjusted for their disabilities", and that harassment and bullying is rife in our industries.
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
CWU DISABILITY AND SPECIAL NEEDS CONFERENCE REPORT
Delegates at last month's (OCTOBER) CWU Disability and Special Needs
Conference held in Dundee spoke passionately on wide-ranging issues,
from changes to the Equality Bill, to diabetes, and even assisted
suicide. Organisers said it was their most successful equality
conference to date, and pressing issues debated will now be raised at
next year's main CWU conference.
Ted Stead, of the Disability and Special Needs Advisory Committee, urged
the union to launch a campaign to prepare itself for the impending
changes to the Equality Bill that will bring nine pieces of
discrimination legislation under the one umbrella of the Single Equality
Bill.
He said: "At the moment, there can be only one discrimination claim
raised at a time, but the new legislation will mean a black woman, for
example, could launch a combined race and sex discrimination claim, or
an elderly disabled worker could launch a race and a disabled case. We
need to make all of our reps aware of the changes and ensure they are
well-prepared in anticipation of this legislation expected to be
introduced next year."
The motion was unanimously passed and delegates voted for it to be
raised at the main union conference next year.
The other motion supported sufficiently for it to be put forward at the
main union conference, was another proposition by Ted Stead, in his
capacity as branch secretary for the Oldham and Rochdale Amal. He garnered
support for the DSNAC to produce a "disability leave policy" to protect
disabled members from falling foul of various sickness absence policies
that various employers utilise.
But the most hotly debated motion, was one put forward by Gary Clark of
Scotland No. 2 branch on assisted suicide. He argued that the union
should lobby for euthanasia to be made legal and available on the NHS,
adding: "This is about freedom of choice. People should be allowed to
die with dignity." But he faced opposition from Lynne Hart who said that
her Thames Valley branch has conducted a survey of all of its 2,000
members, which concluded the matter would be better dealt with at a
national level. The motion was not carried.
Jeff Till of Central London branch gained support for a move to get more
Human Resources managers trained on "all aspects" of the DDA, while
Lynne Hart successfully called for hearing tests to be made available
for employees actively working with headphones on a daily basis.
Earlier, Tony Sneddon, chair of DSNAC, welcomed the delegates to Dundee,
City of Discovery. While he said that much progress has been made for
disabled workers' rights, he warned: "The fight for true equality is not
over."
Linda Roy, national equalities officer, echoed those views. She said:
"In the majority of complaints to our equality department - almost 15 years
after the DDA - is that management is either ill-briefed, ignorant, or
deliberately ignoring their legal responsibilities." Therefore, she said
that her primary aim is in providing employees with information on the
DDA, including fact sheets, guides, e-bulletins, and toolkits.
President of the STUC, Martin Keenan, told delegates: "As we strive to
move out of recession, equality matters even more."
Perhaps the most emotive talk was delivered by Robin Hood - the Scottish
director for DEBRA - the national charity working on behalf of people
with the horrific genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis
Bullosa (EB).
He spoke about his brave daughter's fight with the debilitating
condition, which results in skin and internal linings to blister, bleed
and peel off at the slightest touch. Mr Hood has devoted his life to
raising money for research into the condition, and despite his daughter
dying last year aged just 19, he has vowed to continue the fight for a
cure.
So many subjects were covered at this conference ranging from the Equlaity Bill to Diabetes this is just a sample of the issues debated.
The amount of delegates attending this conference was 82
Conference held in Dundee spoke passionately on wide-ranging issues,
from changes to the Equality Bill, to diabetes, and even assisted
suicide. Organisers said it was their most successful equality
conference to date, and pressing issues debated will now be raised at
next year's main CWU conference.
Ted Stead, of the Disability and Special Needs Advisory Committee, urged
the union to launch a campaign to prepare itself for the impending
changes to the Equality Bill that will bring nine pieces of
discrimination legislation under the one umbrella of the Single Equality
Bill.
He said: "At the moment, there can be only one discrimination claim
raised at a time, but the new legislation will mean a black woman, for
example, could launch a combined race and sex discrimination claim, or
an elderly disabled worker could launch a race and a disabled case. We
need to make all of our reps aware of the changes and ensure they are
well-prepared in anticipation of this legislation expected to be
introduced next year."
The motion was unanimously passed and delegates voted for it to be
raised at the main union conference next year.
The other motion supported sufficiently for it to be put forward at the
main union conference, was another proposition by Ted Stead, in his
capacity as branch secretary for the Oldham and Rochdale Amal. He garnered
support for the DSNAC to produce a "disability leave policy" to protect
disabled members from falling foul of various sickness absence policies
that various employers utilise.
But the most hotly debated motion, was one put forward by Gary Clark of
Scotland No. 2 branch on assisted suicide. He argued that the union
should lobby for euthanasia to be made legal and available on the NHS,
adding: "This is about freedom of choice. People should be allowed to
die with dignity." But he faced opposition from Lynne Hart who said that
her Thames Valley branch has conducted a survey of all of its 2,000
members, which concluded the matter would be better dealt with at a
national level. The motion was not carried.
Jeff Till of Central London branch gained support for a move to get more
Human Resources managers trained on "all aspects" of the DDA, while
Lynne Hart successfully called for hearing tests to be made available
for employees actively working with headphones on a daily basis.
Earlier, Tony Sneddon, chair of DSNAC, welcomed the delegates to Dundee,
City of Discovery. While he said that much progress has been made for
disabled workers' rights, he warned: "The fight for true equality is not
over."
Linda Roy, national equalities officer, echoed those views. She said:
"In the majority of complaints to our equality department - almost 15 years
after the DDA - is that management is either ill-briefed, ignorant, or
deliberately ignoring their legal responsibilities." Therefore, she said
that her primary aim is in providing employees with information on the
DDA, including fact sheets, guides, e-bulletins, and toolkits.
President of the STUC, Martin Keenan, told delegates: "As we strive to
move out of recession, equality matters even more."
Perhaps the most emotive talk was delivered by Robin Hood - the Scottish
director for DEBRA - the national charity working on behalf of people
with the horrific genetic skin blistering condition Epidermolysis
Bullosa (EB).
He spoke about his brave daughter's fight with the debilitating
condition, which results in skin and internal linings to blister, bleed
and peel off at the slightest touch. Mr Hood has devoted his life to
raising money for research into the condition, and despite his daughter
dying last year aged just 19, he has vowed to continue the fight for a
cure.
So many subjects were covered at this conference ranging from the Equlaity Bill to Diabetes this is just a sample of the issues debated.
The amount of delegates attending this conference was 82
DYSLEXIA AWARENESS WEEK 1st - 7th November 2009
1st November - 7th November Dyslexia Awareness Week 2009
In conjunction with Dyslexia awareness week we have sent out to branches a poster and a DVD on Dyslexia. The DVD was recorded at the Disability Conference in 2007. Jeffrey Till gave his permission to record his experiences and Derek Kennedy from the Bakers Union also gave his permission to record him giving his presentation on various types of Dyslexia.
If anyone wants to find out if they suffer from dyslexia there is a dyslexia online test on the CWU web site.
I would also like to place on record my thanks to Jeff Till for all his help and advice.
In conjunction with Dyslexia awareness week we have sent out to branches a poster and a DVD on Dyslexia. The DVD was recorded at the Disability Conference in 2007. Jeffrey Till gave his permission to record his experiences and Derek Kennedy from the Bakers Union also gave his permission to record him giving his presentation on various types of Dyslexia.
If anyone wants to find out if they suffer from dyslexia there is a dyslexia online test on the CWU web site.
I would also like to place on record my thanks to Jeff Till for all his help and advice.
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