General Council Meetings - The STUC

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54 1. Build effective relationships with government and agencies to promote the rights of disabled within and outwith the workplace. 2. Campaign against discrimination and for genuine opportunity of employment for disabled people. 3. Build capacity to ensure that Unions Work for Disabled People. The Committee has worked to pursue these priorities through a range of strategic activity. Political Engagement The Disabled Workers’ Committee meeting with the former Minister for Communities was unable to take place, due to elections. However, a meeting has been sought and agreed, in principle, with the new Communities Minister, Stewart Maxwell MSP. Disabled Workers’ Conference 2007 was addressed by Shona Robison MSP, Minister for Health. The Committee has established a relationship with the Cross Party Group on Mental Health, and Alan McKay of the Committee, along with the STUC secretariat, made a presentation at a meeting of the Cross Party Group in December 2007. Consultation Responses The Disabled Workers’ Committee participated in the formulation of the STUC General Council response to the Discrimination Law Review – A Framework for Fairness: Proposals for a Single Equality Bill for Great Britain (UK Government) Consultation. It argued for the inclusion of a number of points relating to general equalities and the disability strand in particular. All of the points raised by the Committee were included in the final submission. The Committee also responded to the Department of Work and Pensions consultation into the provision of Specialist Employment Services. Advocating and Acting for Change Project The Committee conceived and played a key role in promoting the STUC’s Advocating and Acting for Change project, exploring positive activities to promote mental well-being in the workplace through joint union employer action. The Advocating and Acting for Change project was launched at STUC Disabled Workers’ Conference 2007, and the Committee went on to play a role in organising the first Conference held under the initiative in December 2007. Lesley McCallum, Vice Chair, made a keynote presentation to the event, which attracted a wide range of participants, including trade unions, employers, government officials, voluntary sector and peer support organisations. The Conference featured STUC research on mental well-being in the workplace and is part of an ongoing process of consultation and discussion aimed at taking forward a defined programme of activity, to improve workplace support and partnership working on mental well-being. Remploy The Disabled Workers’ Committee continued to provide strong support for the campaign to save Remploy factories through media comment and speaking at rallies and public meetings. The Committee provided practical support to the organisers of the Remploy Crusade through organising meeting venues and providing links to MPs, MSPs and local councillors in Scotland. Letters were also written to a range of elected representatives, urging their support for the campaign. The STUC widely advertised the Remploy Crusade, lobbied MPs, MSPs and councillors, and provided media support. Remploy rallies in Edinburgh and Glasgow were addressed by the Secretary to the Disabled Workers’ Committee and the STUC General Secretary. Messages of support were conveyed from the Disabled Workers’ Committee. Procurement The issue of the use of the Public Sector Procurement to promote equalities was a standing agenda item for the Disabled Workers’ Committee, which argued successfully for the STUC to lobby for a specific reference to be made to the Disability Equality Duty within the Scottish Executive Guidance on the Directive. The Committee was represented at a roundtable event convened by Jim Mather MSP, Minister for Enterprise Enterprise, Energy and Tourism, to discuss the role of procurement in the promotion of sheltered and supported employment. The Committee made a clear case for the use of procurement to promote equality and, in particular, to ensure that sheltered and supported employment continued. Employability Access to Work The Committee has continued to inform the STUC’s input into the Westminster and Scottish Government’s employability initiatives, including the STUC response to the Freud Report. The Committee has continued to highlight an employment rights based approach to employability and has, in particular, concentrated on the need to remove barriers to work, and to address negative employer attitudes to disabled workers. Through engagement with the Department of Work and Pensions Customer Insight initiative, the Committee has highlighted the ongoing lack of advertisement of the Access to Work Scheme, and the need for additional funding. Dyslexia in the Workplace The Committee has promoted the issue of dyslexia in the workplace through holding a special session at Disabled SCOTTISH TRADES UNION CONGRESS
Workers’ Conference 2007, and through supporting the work of the STUC Skills and Lifelong Learning Team, including at the special event held during Scottish Parliament Trade Union Week in January 2008. NUS Scotland Disabled Committee – Decent Work in the 21st Century The Committee was represented at the NUS “Decent Work in the 21st Century” event. Here, the Committee provided a practical session on the barriers faced by disabled workers in the workplace, and the positive role of trade unions in combating discrimination and providing paths to employment. Disability Equality Duty The Committee organised a joint event with the Disability Rights Commission “Organising and the Disability Equality Duty”, however, take-up was not strong enough for the event to go ahead. The Committee, therefore, co-operated with the other STUC Equality Committees in organising a One Day Event, entitled “The Equality Agenda for Scottish Trade Unions: The Public Sector Equality Duties and the CEHR”, at which Lesley McCallum, on behalf of the Committee, provided a workshop on practical workplace applications of the Disability Equality Duty. Briefing Papers for Affiliates At the time of writing, the Committee is in the process of producing two briefing papers for affiliates. The first is a briefing document on the social model of disability and the second a briefing on the Access to Work Scheme and model disability leave agreements and fact sheet. Youth Committee The STUC Youth Committee, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2008, brings together young trade unionists to campaign on key issues for young workers throughout Scotland. The Youth Committee is elected at the Annual Youth Conference, which this year will be held over the weekend 28–29 June 2008. ANNUAL YOUTH CONFERENCE The 67th Annual STUC Youth Conference was held at the Premier Travel Inn, Glasgow, on Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July, 2007. The Conference was chaired by Hamish Drummond, PCS. The Conference was attended by 35 delegates, representing ten trade unions and one trades union council. One of the aims of the Conference was to encourage everyone to participate, especially delegates attending for the first time. In order to achieve this, two workshops were held, one entitled “An Introduction to Conference”, the other “Unions Work – Organising in the Workplace and Community”. The level of presentation and calibre of debate throughout Conference was excellent. Delegates left the event more aware of issues experienced in GENERAL COUNCIL REPORT 2008 different employment sectors, in international issues, in public policy and in young workers’ lives more generally. A number of key speakers addressed Conference over the weekend, including Grahame Smith, General Secretary, STUC; Jamie Jenkins, Wales TUC; Emma Ritch, Project Manager, Close the Gap; James Alexander, President, NUS (Scotland); Oriol Torrent, Avalot UGT; Kirsty Connell, Scottish Young Labour; Lucinda Yeadon, TUC Young Members’ Forum; Gina Hay, Chairperson, STUC Disabled Workers’ Committee; Tricia McLaren, Chairperson, STUC Women’s Committee; Anna Cooper, Education and Solidarity Officer, Banana Link; Katrina Murray, General Council and UNISON; and Habib Hashmi, Chairperson, STUC Black Workers’ Committee. An informative “Unions into Schools” Session was held during the Saturday afternoon of the Conference with the following School Visits Reps: Loraine Barkley, UNISON Scotland; John Battles, PCS; Tom Clark, UNISON Scotland; Ann Gallacher, PCS; Satnam Ner, Prospect; and Michael Saunders, PCS. Fatima Uygun of Strathclyde University conducted a focus group with Conference delegates on the Saturday evening, as part of STUC commissioned research on sectarianism, on the joint initiative with the Scottish Executive. A lively Open Panel Debate “How Young People Engage”, was held during the Sunday morning session of the Conference, Chaired by Hamish Drummond, Chairperson, STUC Youth Committee. Panellists included: Anne Douglas, National Secretary, Prospect; John Quigley, Scottish Regional Secretary, Unite: Amicus Section; Eddie Reilly, Scottish Secretary, PCS; and Matt Smith, Scottish Secretary, UNISON Scotland. Hamish Drummond, PCS, was awarded the Jimmy Waugh Memorial Trophy, which is presented each year at the Conference to an outstanding young trade unionist. The Committee would like to thank PCS for hosting a Pre Dinner Drinks Reception for delegates and visitors on the Saturday evening. This was followed by Dinner and the Conference Social, which was very enjoyable and entertaining. The Committee would wish to record its thanks to Glasgow City Council for hosting a Civic Reception on Friday 29 June for all delegates participating in the Conference. DECISIONS OF CONGRESS 2007 Full details of all decisions and reports adopted at Conference are available from the Congress Office. The following were elected to serve on the STUC Youth Committee for the period 2007/08: Jenny Duncan, Unite: Amicus Section Josh MacAlister, Unite: Amicus Section Angela Nicoll, UNISON Scotland Drew Smith, GMB: Scotland Graham Smith, UNISON Scotland. A number of delegates at the Conference also volunteered to be co-opted to fill vacancies on the Youth Committee 55
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Scottish Trades Union Congress Repo
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Page 71 and 72: Appendix Obituary Graham Arbuckle R
Page 73: 1989 Ronnie Webster (Aberdeen Trade
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General Council Meetings - The STUC

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