CWU Black Workers Conference Report by Pauline Granstan

2010 CWU BLACK WORKERS


CONFERENCE REPORT





The 2010 CWU Black Workers Conference took place at the Quay Hotel & Spa, Dundee on 6th February. There were 63 delegates from 43 branches, 10 visitors and 16 Headquarters staff. The Race Advisory Members in attendance were Greg Amissah (Vice Chair), Sylvia Beckett, Colin Bell (Chair), Graham Colk (NEC), Angela Green, Gurwinder Heer, Freddie Jones, Sam Makwana, Mizanul Muqit, Katrina Quirke (NEC) Winston Richards, Ian Taylor and Linda Roy (National Equality Officer).



The social on the Friday night (5th February) was attended by the Lord Provost. The occasion allowed delegates to network, renew acquaintances and make new friends.



Something new was added to the social night; a quiz focusing on black people who have made a contribution to history.



The quiz was considered to be difficult; nevertheless there were some decent marks with the “Marcus Garvey” table scoring 19 out of a possible 30.



Thanks go to Gurwinder and Freddie for their work on the night.



The names of delegates who were on the Marcus Garvey table will be the first, of what is hoped to be an ongoing event.



During the social members were very generous and as a result £208.15 was collected for “Just a Drop”.



Saturday 6th February saw the start of Conference. Linda Roy, National Equality Officer welcomed Conference for the second time in her role as the Equality Officer. She outlined some of the work carried out by the RAC and those that are still ongoing namely:



 The Under Representation of Black People in the Union

 Just a Drop (the list is not

 There were 9 motions on the agenda (copy attached), plus Emergency Motion 1 on Haiti. Of the 9 motions, only 1 was not carried – Motion No. 8 on Bullying in the Public Sector.



Conference invited 2 guest speakers:



• Simon Wolley of Operation Black Vote

• Piara Power of Kick it Out of Football



At the end of conference there was a bucket collection for the people of Haiti which raised £216.40.



RD10-02-16

4th March 2010



A fuller report of conference is attached below: Please note this is not the website version





WARRIORS FOR CHANGE OR

STATING THE OBVIOUS?



Critics against separate equality conferences still have a long battle on their hands if the lively debate at this year’s CWU Black Workers Conference is an indicator of what lies ahead. Linda Roy, National Equality Officer in her opening speech to Conference outlined that in the field of employment, “members of nearly all minority ethnic groups are less likely to be in paid work than White British men and women…the positions of power and influence are populated by white males. And yes that includes trade unions….So individually what are we prepared to do?” she asked.



Delegates came equipped to have their say and what an event it proved to be. Having quickly warmed up with Emergency Motion 1 on the call to write off Hati’s debt, speakers were ready to discuss Motion No. on the need for positive action to achieve full equality as outlined in Rule 2.1.5 and Rule 2.1.6.



For some members, Rule 2.1.5 and Rule 2.1.6 is contentious because it calls upon the CWU to take positive action in favour of women and ethnic minorities until such time as the structures within the union is reflective of its membership. Here positive action is translated into positive discrimination, giving unfair advantage to those who have not earned their place on merit. For others in a white male dominated society such as the CWU there is a tension between what some perceive as asking for reserve seats and those who are stalwart of keeping the status quo.



Speakers coming to CWU Black Workers Conference like Mahmood Ali of the Birmingham Branch are passionate in their belief. Mahmood succinctly stated the obvious – “why fix something that is working? But we need to ask ourselves if the system is working?” If the system isn’t working, “there is a need to review it, to look into it and find the ways to improve the system, and the structure of our union”, he continued. Others were far more critical, saying that the Rule was not strong enough.



Of course the structure of the CWU wasn’t the only topic of the day. Sylvia Beckett moved Motion No. 3 on behalf of her Branch, Capital on the Rise of the BNP. The National Equality Officer in her opening remarks spoke of their concerns. Linda said: “undoubtedly 2009’s deepest low point for me has been the election of 2 BNP members of the European Parliament”.



Conference heard that as part of an anti fascist movement, the CWU have a major role to play. The message coming from us must go beyond the role of combating BNP myths and stereotyping. Our message should be one of hope and unity where people are valued for what they are. Taking a different slant to the proposition, Colin Jarvis, Central Counties & Thames Valley Branch told conference that this was a war “and that war is fought out on the battlefield of democracy; the arms at our disposal and at theirs WMD/WMC. For them, weapons of mass destruction and for us, weapons of mass construction”.



The ‘temperature’ in the hall was hot but became hotter when Simon Wolley from “Operation Black Vote” addressed Conference. An influential speaker, Simon locked into the theme of “Warriors for Change”. He praised attendees for their fight for social and racial justice, the strength they’ve embodied, the diversity of conference delegates and membership of the CWU; he thanked them for their responsible stance and the role they played in bringing about change.



Conference was given a pat on the back but, it wasn’t all about the feel good factor, he meant business at all levels with no holds barred. Yes, we know about history, slavery, how long it has taken us to get to where we are; nevertheless we had to look at the man in the mirror. We are the “warriors for change” in the 21st century, he said. However we need a “plan”; in the same way that Martin Luther King had sketched one out. That plan is aimed at giving ‘black people’ power on the political agenda, in all institutions and at all levels. He gave us some insight into his own thoughts on President Barack Obama. The weakness for him was that if someone had asked him to sign a paper a few years ago to say that Barack Obama would become Vice President he would gladly have signed it, looking back in hindsight he wanted to emphasise “we should never settle for second best” as that is never good enough. He also encouraged conference that as a people we, individually and collectively are, “agents of our destiny… and it’s up to all of us to organise and get involved”.



Piara Power, Director of “Kick it Out” was the other speaker at conference. Piara spoke about what is needed to make changes happen by using the medium of football. Piara believed football reflected what is happening in the wider society. He gave examples of some of the best players in the game who had an ethnic or minority background. They represented Scotland, England and Wales at an international level, scored goals and as a result helped to make the UK football clubs what they are today.



However, football “does not share power very well”, he said. He continued that whilst the pitch is seen as “the model of diversity”, we do not see that same level of diversity transferred into the board or management level. For Piara the crux of the problem lies in: stereotyping; “being told what you can do”; “you’re not management material” and “lack experience”. To combat some of these problems we need to organise, affiliate; take up issues such as homophobia in football and challenge racism.



Conference was lively and more than made up for its apparent lack of motions. Motions 7 & 8 were hotly debated by those in favour and those who were against the propositions.

Motion No. 7 called for the delay of the removal of immigrants from the UK suffering from and under treatment for HIV, until such antiretroviral treatment is available and accessible to them in their country of repatriation. Motion No. 8 by the Race Advisory Committee, dealt with bullying and harassment in the public sector of BME workers.



Some delegates had problems with both motions and motion 7 was carried after debate. However, 8 proved more controversial with the majority of delegates having concerns with the wording. For Conference, the wording appeared to focus on ‘others’ rather than on ‘us’ however delegates wanted to have their own homes put in order before attempting to tidy up someone else’s. As a result, the task was left to Winston Richards of the RAC to explain the Committees’ reason for putting such a motion on the agenda pad. Despite his best efforts the motion was overwhelmingly defeated.



At the conclusion of Conference Emergency Motion E1 on Haiti, and Motion 1 on Rule 2.1.5 & Rule 2.1.6 were selected for Annual Conference. Delegates expressed their appreciation for one of the best CWU Black Workers Conference they had attended. However, such was the high level and input into Conference that one wonders if such debates should be taking place elsewhere within the union.






15th February 2010