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Annual Conference of Trades Union Councils 2009 |
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Written by Martin
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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF TRADES UNION COUNCILS
The 2009 Conference was held at Eastbourne Centre (Unite Centre) on the weekend of the 30th/31st May 2009. The usual pre-conference rally was held on the Friday evening, at the same location discussing racism. While numbers were down on the previous year, probably due to the location, the facilities were very good. The North East had six delegates - four from Tyne and Wear and two from Northumberland.
The scheduled motions included:
• Response to the economic crisis (composite motion).
• Global crisis and people’s Charter for Change.
• Defend public services.
• Local authority funding.
• Local authority housing crisis.
• Primary education.
• Solidarity against wage cuts.
• National TUC strategy for the defence of the TUC Unemployed Workers Centres 2009.
• Extending collective bargaining.
• The recycling of worn out commercial and domestic appliances.
• Trade Union Rights and Freedom Bill
• Organisation.
• Privatisation of Royal Mail and postal services (composite motion).
• Calling for an end of indefinite detention and ensuring of properly trained staff.
• International unity (composite motion).
• Human rights.
There was also one emergency motion:
• Reinstate sacked convenor Rob Williams (Limanar, Ex Visteon, and Ex-Ford).
The conference opened with an address from Megan Dobney (SERTUC Regional Secretary and it was again chaired by Jeremy Dear (General Secretary NUJ).
The conference started with a heated debate on the composited motion number one and the call to nationalise the banks. This was ruled against TUC policy, despite claims that it was policy in the distant past (1931). There was a good debate on most of the other motions and most were passed unanimously. Details of the work programme were discussed in the usual workshops, with a report back to the full conference plenary session. As a result of rule changes put by the RMT at the previous congress, the conference could vote on sending one motion to the September Congress in Liverpool, motion 8 on TUC Unemployed Workers Centres was selected and the motion put to congress, by Jeremy Dear, as chair and passed by the congress.
There were additional contributions from Alan Ritchie (General Secretary, UCATT) reporting on the many health and safety and other issues of the union. Toni Coleiro (General Secretary GMU Malta) discussing tourism to Malta.
A number of fringe meetings were held during lunch break or at the end of conference on Saturday, on a number of issues, with a number of short contributions, before a wide ranging discussion. There was a social evening with meal on the Saturday evening at Conference centre.
JIM SIMPKIN
(UNITE Tyneside Engineering)
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 February 2010 )
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Welcome 
Annual Conference 2009 
