29th NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL ORGANISING CONFERENCE OF TRAIN CREWS & SHUNTING GRADES

Agenda of the 29th National Industrial Organisation Conference of Train Crew and Shunting Grades to be held at – The Gwesty’r Marine Hotel, Marine Terrace, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 2DA on Thursday 12th April and Friday 13th April 2018.

President: Alex Gordon

Secretary: Neil Sharples

9 Wilson Avenue
Wigan
Lancs
WN6 7HD
Email:
Tel: 07795008201

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF TRAIN CREW & SHUNTING GRADES 2018

To Branch/Regional Council Secretary and delegates

Dear Colleague

Conference:

Opens at 12:00 hours on Thursday 12th April, then at 09:30 hours on Friday 13th April 2018.

MAKE THE CONFERENCE A SUCCESS – SEND A DELEGATION FROM YOUR BRANCH OR REGIONAL COUNCIL.

I look forward to your Branch / Regional Council joining us in our efforts on behalf of our grades, by sending at least one delegate to the conference.

There is no deadline for the appointment of delegates – they only need to turn up with credentials stamped and completed for each day they attend. Credentials are contained on the last page of this agenda. Please feel free to copy as many as required.

Our conference has always seen lively and informed debate about key issues for our industry. Branches and Regional Councils are urged to consider the agenda and mandate their delegates as appropriate.

Amendments to agenda items must be received in writing to the conference minutes secretary by Friday 31st March. Each delegate upon entering the conference will be given a copy of any such amendments. Emergency resolutions are welcome and will be accepted if they are submitted before the start of the liason committee meeting. Please submit in writing or email.

I look forward to meeting your delegates in Aberystwyth.

Yours Fraternally

Neil Sharples

Conference Secretary

AGENDA

Thursday 12th April 2018 - 12:00 Start ?

  1. Conference President Opens
  2. Election of Tellers (4 required)/Conference Harassment Officer
  3. Speaker from Welsh Govt/ Assembly
  4. Re Steve Hedley, Senior Assistant General Secretary

Break

5. National Executive Report NEC member TBC

6. 3 Resolutions

7. Speakers:- Dan Carden MP, Paul Flynn MP and Peter Rayner ( Railfutures)

These speakers will then take part in an afternoon session Q&A session and panel discussion with AGS Steve Hedley.

Conference Close

Friday 13th April 2018- 09:30 Start

BREAK

Resolutions

Org Unit workshop/ Education- Bill Patterson on social Media and how to use to organise?

LUNCH

Election of 2018 Officers and committee.

. 2 Resolutions to go to AGM

. Vote of thanks

CONFERENCE OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2017/18

PRESIDENT / Alex Gordon / SECRETARY / Neil Sharples
VICE PRESIDENT / Rod Traynor / MINUTES SECRETARY / Vacant
GUARDS(2) / DRIVERS(1)
Regions 1, 2 & 4 / K.Morrison / Regions 1, 2 & 4 / G.Rodgers
Regions 3, 5, 6 & 7 / M.Mcnulty/
G.Jackson / Regions 3, 5, 6 & 7 / C.Mcdonald
Regions 8, 9, 10 & 12 / J. Buchanan
M. Apedo Amah / Regions 8, 9, 10 & 12
SHUNTERS (2) / LUL(2)
All Regions / Region 11 / M.Hyde
Vacant

FINANCIAL REPORT YEAR END 2018

INCOME
Carried Forward (Bank Balance as at 31/12/15)
Carried Forward (Bank Balance at 26/01/18) / £498.33
£964.97
Grant from Head Office / £600.00
Conference Income (various Branches/Raffle)
Total Income / £1098.33
EXPENDITURE
Conference Expenses / £487.36
Total Expenditure / £487.36
Bank Reconciliation
Bank Balance 31/12/16 / £610.97
Uncleared cheques / £Nil
Actual Bank Balance / £610.97

RESOLUTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION BY CONFERENCE

To be entered as submitted.

CONFERENCE OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2018/19

POSITION / NOMINEE / NOMINATED BY
President
Vice President
Secretary
Minutes Secretary
Guards Region 1,2 & 4 (2 of)
Guards Region 3,5,6 & 7 (2 of)
Guards Region 8,9,10 & 12 (2 of)
Driver Region 1,2,& 4
Driver Region 3,5,6 & 7
Driver Region 8,9,10 & 12
Shunting Grades (2 of)
LUL Region 11 (2 of)
REGIONS:
1Scotland
2Manchester & North West of England
3North West & North Wales
4North East
5Yorkshire & Lincolnshire
6Midlands / 7South Wales & West
8South West
9South East
10London & Anglia
11London Transport
12Wessex

Where there are two positions (Guards, L.U.L.) these shall not be held by delegates from the same Branch.

CONSTITUTION AND STANDING ORDERS

1. The Conference shall be known as the National Industrial Organising Conference of Train Crews and Shunting Grades.

2. The objects shall be the efficient and complete organisation within the National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers of the grades covered by Conference and the

propagation of the maintenance and improvement of all conditions affecting their grades.

3. Conference activities shall be confined to matters germane to their grades and conform to national policy as laid down by the decisions of the Annual General Meeting or Council of Executives.

4. An affiliation fee will be paid to Conference as per 1983 SGM Decision No.5.

5. Each Branch or Regional Council affiliating will be allowed to appoint Delegates to attend. All Delegates must be employed in the grades concerned.

6. The expenses of all Delegates attending the Conference to be paid by their respective Branches or Regional Councils.

7. The Conference shall elect its own Officers annually. They shall consist of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Minute Secretary.

8. All Officers and Executive Committee must be duly elected Delegates from affiliated Branches or Regional Councils and shall be in attendance at Conference unless excused.

9. No accredited Delegate shall be eligible to hold Office as an Officer or Executive Committee member if he/she is a serving member of the Council of Executives.

10. The President shall not hold the Office of President for more than three Conferences in succession, and shall not be eligible for re-election for the following three Annual Conferences.

11. There shall be thirteen members of the Executive Committee comprising a composition of Train Crew and Shunting

Grades on the following basis

Combined Regions 1, 2 and 4 Two Guards and one Driver; Combined Regions 3, 5, 6 and 7 Two Guards and one Driver; Combined Regions 8, 9, 10 and 12 Two Guards and one Driver; All Regions Shunters; Two representatives; L.U.L. Two Representatives.

Where there are two positions (Guards, L.U.L.) these shall not be held by delegates from the same Branch.

12. There shall be a Liaison Committee of six members, which shall comprise the President, Secretary and four members of the Executive Committee. The latter four members to be selected on the following rolling basis

One Driver Representative – Regions 1, 2 and 4 combined, following year Regions 3, 5, 6 and 7 combined, following year Regions 8, 9, 10 and 12 combined; One Guard Representative – Regions 8, 9, 10 and 12 combined, following year Regions 1, 2 and 4 combined, following year Regions 3, 5, 6 and 7 combined; One Shunter Representative, One L.U.L. Representative.

This cycle to be repeated there from.

13. Voting for the Officers and Executive Committee shall be by ballot at Conference.

14. Conference shall open an account with Unity Trust plc in the name of the Conference which shall be operated upon by means of cheques signed by the President and Secretary.

15. Conference Secretary shall within five days of receipt of moneys pay these into the Conference Account and shall not retain in his/her hands more than £10 for current expenditure. He/she shall also by a date to be determined render to every Branch and Regional Council and to the General Secretary a true accurate account of receipts and expenditure for the twelve months ended the previous 31st December.

16. The Balance Sheet to be included in the Agenda.

17. Conference shall after consultation with the General Secretary fix the date for its next meeting.

18. Conference shall meet on the Thursday and Friday and shall commence at 14.00 hours on the Thursday.

19. The Conference Executive Committee shall meet prior to Conference to consider the arrangements for the Conference, also the Agenda. The Council of Executives’ member and National Officer to be requested to attend.

20. Nominations, items and other matters for the Agenda shall reach the Secretary ten clear weeks prior to Conference. Amendments to reach the Secretary fourteen days prior to Conference. The Agenda to be dispatched to Branches six weeks prior to Conference.

21. The Conference President and Secretary shall be empowered to arrange meetings of the Executive Committee as deemed necessary.

22. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to arrange special meetings of the Conference as deemed necessary after application by a minimum of 12 Branches/Regional Councils.

23. Four Tellers shall be appointed from Delegates in attendance and shall not be candidates in elections.

24. A Harassment Contact Person shall be appointed from delegates in attendance to act as a first point of contact for any member present at conference who feels they may have been harassed for any reason.

25. On each day, every Delegate must present his/her credentials to the Executive Committee members appointed to receive them.

26. The venue of the Conference shall be voted on from invitations from Branches or Regional Councils and shall be for two years in advance.

27. Invitations to guest speakers shall be at the discretion of the President and Secretary.

28. Mover of the resolution shall be allowed not more than five minutes and subsequent speakers three minutes only (President and Secretary excepted).

29. When the final resolution has been discussed, a vote will be taken among Delegates to decide which items should be progressed to the Annual General Meeting.

30. The Conference Secretary shall be responsible for all correspondence, affiliation fees etc. He shall also submit Grade Reports on behalf of Conference to the “RMT News”.

31. The Reception committee shall be granted a sum of £100 from the Conference Funds.

32. The Minutes Secretary shall provide to the Conference Secretary and President, within four weeks of the end of Conference, a typed report of the business of the Conference and brief summary of the speeches made by guest speakers.

33. The foregoing rules shall not be amended or rescinded without the consent of the majority of representatives voting at a National Conference. Amendments or addenda can only be submitted every third year, except amendments or addenda submitted by the Executive Committee of the Conference

Last updated April 2015
STATEMENT TO ALL MEMBERS ATTENDING RMT CONFERENCES

The General Secretary has written “As part of the continuing process of ensuring that the Union’s equal opportunities policy applies throughout the structure, I shall be glad if you will ensure that delegates to your Conference are reminded of our policy,” as follows

Members will be aware that this Union has a policy of equal opportunity. Harassment and discrimination on the grounds of age, gender, marital status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, disability, religion, or sexual orientation will not be tolerated.

All members are expected to adhere to this policy whilst attending the conference and breaches of the policy will result in disciplinary action being taken. This is expected throughout the period of the conference, both within the conference hall and outside.

Harassment has many forms but the key to recognising this sort of behaviour is that it is considered offensive or unwelcome by the recipient and it is often persistent. Some forms of unacceptable behaviour are detailed below

• Racially or Sexually abusive language or ‘jokes’ and name calling

• Display of offensive written or visual material including graffiti

• Unwanted touching, leering or even physical assault

• Threats or insulting or abusive behaviour or gestures

• Persistent requests for social contact, even when it has been made clear that this is not wanted. This includes sexual propositions and unwanted comments on dress or appearance

• Use of patronising/offensive titles or nicknames

• Open hostility to any member, including organised hostility

• Any member who feels they have been harassed on any grounds can take action through the special procedure, as set out in the following guidelines. In the event of such harassment, the grades conference secretary should be the initial point of contact.

RMT Guidelines on Harassment and Discrimination at Conferences and Courses

• If an individual feels that they have been harassed for any reason, they should raise it in the first instance with the Conference harassment contact person, at the earliest opportunity. If the individual feels unable to raise the matter directly, they should ask a friend or colleague to do it for them.

• The role of the first contact person is to counsel the complainant and explain the avenues open to her/him. If the complainant wishes to take the matter further, the first contact person must raise it with a senior union officer (at least A.G.S.) immediately.

• Complaints of harassment or discrimination may result in informal or formal action, depending on the expressed wishes of the complainant.

• When a complaint has been made, the senior officer must immediately set up an investigation with a view to reaching a conclusion within 4 - 6 weeks. This investigation will involve interviewing witnesses and the parties concerned. A female member will be involved where requested.

• The Officer conducting the investigation will present his or her findings to the General Secretary as soon as they are drawn up and the General Secretary will put them before the Council of Executives, stating whether or not the investigating officer is recommending disciplinary action. The Council of Executives will then decide whether or not charges should be brought.

• The General Secretary will inform both parties concerning any proceedings to be initiated, and appropriate charges will be framed.

• The General Secretary will then appoint a special sub-committee of the Council of Executives to take the resulting hearing where the charges will be put to the alleged harasser(s).

• The alleged harasser(s) will be entitled to representation at the hearing.

• Following the hearing, the special sub-committee will recommend action as appropriate to the full Council of Executives.

• The final decision concerning disciplinary action will rest with the full Council of Executives.

• Any member found guilty of harassment may be disciplined under Rule 3, Clause 10(a), or Rule 2, Clause 18, and disciplinary action may result in expulsion.

• In normal circumstances, this procedure should take no longer than eight weeks to complete.

• Members should be aware that they are entitled to take a case through legal channels at any time if they choose to do so.

• Any member who is not satisfied with the way in which their case has been handled, whether the complainant or the alleged harasser, has the right to appeal to the Annual General Meeting.

RMT NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF TRAIN CREW & SHUNTING GRADES 2018
DELEGATE CREDENTIAL FOR THURSDAY 12th April 12:00
DELEGATES NAME: ………………………………………………….… / DELEGATES GRADE: …………………………………...……………
DELEGATES EMAIL ADDRESS: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…
NOMINATING BRANCH/REGIONAL COUNCIL: …………………………………………………………………………………..…………….….
SIGNED: ………………………………………………………….…..……
NAME: ……………………………………………………….……………. / BRANCH/REGIONAL COUNCIL STAMP
CONFERENCE COUNCIL SECRETARY
RMT NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF TRAIN CREW & SHUNTING GRADES 2018
DELEGATE CREDENTIAL FOR FRIDAY 13th April 2018 09:30
DELEGATES NAME: ………………………………………………….… / DELEGATES GRADE: …………………………………...……………
DELEGATES EMAIL ADDRESS: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…
NOMINATING BRANCH/REGIONAL COUNCIL: …………………………………………………………………………………..…………….….
SIGNED: ………………………………………………………….…..……
NAME: ……………………………………………………….……………. / BRANCH/REGIONAL COUNCIL STAMP
CONFERENCE COUNCIL SECRETARY

CONFERENCE SOCIAL

Macynlelleth branch to hold a social evening comprising of buffet and raffle. We will send out more details when a venue and time are confirmed.

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