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GFTU Activities.
1
The GFTU Executive Committee carries out the work of the GFTU between BGCMs. A
Finance and General Purposes Committee meets between EC meetings to particularly
attend to financial reporting and issues. The General Secretary, President and Vice
President meet, usually by telephone conference every week. Between EC meetings the
General Secretary and Treasurer is responsible for the affairs of the GFTU and he
produces comprehensive reports on his work and that of the staff team for the EC,
F&GP, Educational Trust, Pension Scheme, and Training Company Directors. The whole
finance team meetings quarterly. Progress on implementing BGCM decisions is reviewed
throughout the year. A verbatim record of the BGCM 2015 is available to delegates and
minutes of EC meetings are available on request.
2
The EC implemented the decision to have one member from every union with one vote
on the EC. Substitute delegates are also permitted. In addition the EC agreed to elect
four equalities seats for this period of office.
3
Following the BGCM in 2015 two major conferences for affiliates were convened, one
focussing on shared services and one on all elements of union building from organising
to education, personnel management to, organisational change. These proved very
popular and instructive and another major follow up event is planned in February 2018.
4
Underpinning the work of the EC has been the intention to find a long term financial
solution for the GFTU and create sustainable income. This has run alongside the
development of new services to affiliates, the completion of an extensive review of
education and the launch of a new education programme and new income generating
ideas within the Educational Trust. The EC hopes that the affiliates will continue to
support these initiatives.
5
A small online ethical shop has been created to generate income.
6
A special edition of the global progressive magazine New Internationalist was arranged
in conjunction with the GFTU on world trade unionism. This led to fruitful discussions
about future joint working in education and publishing. The Trust has agreed to establish
with New Internationalist a new international publishing hose for trade unions –
Workable Books.
7
Workable Books will be launched in the autumn of 2017 and its first three publications
will be a book about trade union education, a book of songs of Dave Rogers, and a book
of plays about trade unions.
8
The 2015 summit requested that the EC find new ways of support affiliates recognising
that a pick and mix approach would be best. The results of this were published in an
interim report and will be further detailed at the BGCM.
9
The summit also asked the EC to present a set of options for legal services for affiliates
and this will also be presented to the BGCM.