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supporting the development of trade unionism amongst the two thirds of workers not currently in
unions. The GFTU, jointly with its affiliates, needs to develop a strategy to help nurture trade union
growth among these workers.
(3)
The BGCM therefore believes that the GFTU could play an essential role in supporting
affiliates in their attempts to build a stronger movement through freeing resources that are
often duplicated. This should involve looking at the potential to:
a)
Pool and share resources including looking at the possibility of building a multi-union HQ and
also sharing office space throughout Britain and Ireland;
b)
Negotiating shared services and facilities between affiliates, the GFTU and third parties to
create economies of scale and other savings that individual unions' could not otherwise
deliver on their own;
c)
Develop a strategy that helps generate new income for both the GFTU and its affiliates;
d)
Develop a plan which delivers membership growth among affiliates and also looks to deliver
a strategy to nurture trade union growth among unorganised sectors of our economy.
e)
Signpost affiliates to companies and service providers who are unionised and offering value
for money and quality to trade union clients. The BGCM believes that the combined
purchasing power for GFTU affiliates and the development of customised, but shared
benefits and services could play a significant role in maintaining the strength of small and
specialist trade unions and reaching out to new recruitment areas.
(4)
The BGCM calls upon the Executive to:
1)
Produce a discussion paper for affiliates and potential new affiliates on where shared
facilities, services and fund raising schemes could be considered and to consider some of the
best practice and arrangements that unions have made that could be extended and shared;
2)
Organise a working Conference as soon as practical and ideally within 2015 to consider
proposals of benefit for affiliates including where best we can reach out to new membership
growth areas;
3)
Continue its good work to encourage mutual working and sharing of facilities and services
between affiliates.
Resolution 16
Attack on Migrant Workers
(1)
This Conference condemns the right wing media frenzy designed to whip up fear about an
influx of immigration, especially in the light of relaxation of labour market controls on migrant
citizens from Romania and Bulgaria to other EU member states from 1st January 2014. Although
these claims of mass migration to UK were always exaggerated, In the first 3 months of 2014 the
amount of Romanians and Bulgarians employed in Britain fell by 4000 to 140000 people. Despire this
the pattern of right wing propaganda designed to divert the British electorate from the real causes
of the economic crisis has continued to place the blame on immigrants, benefit scroungers etc. The
only real beneficiaries from this are UKIP and the far right racist parties like the EDL.
(2)
This Conference condemns the Coalition Government for capitalising on this fear with new
rafts of legislation aimed to make life even worse for migrants to the UK e.g. stop migrants