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Motions
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Motion 3 continued
3 Similarly the GFTU should promote identifying common recruitment and
organising challenges and support active learning around best practice
and overcoming these challenges. For example, managers are critical union
gatekeepers across the public sector but some unions, such as Napo have
seen a significant reduction of membership in managerial roles and could
learn from unions who have retained strong managerial membership levels.
This BCGM calls upon the GFTU to:
A dentify examples of best practice and such opportunities for such sharing
B use the training co-ordinators network to support this activity
C identify champions, who can be supported to lead on progressing identified
themes
D use the GFTU’S network to access academics, specialists and experts in other
fields to support developing the highest quality of training and practice in
these critical skills.
Promoting efficiencies & greater inter-union
co-operation
1 The GFTU provides a safe space for union leaders to come together, share
challenges, and celebrate successes. However, all GFTU affiliates will be
aiming to stretch resources so they have the maximum impact for members
and this BCGM believes that the GFTU is not fulfilling it’s potential as a broker
for finding shared solutions to common resourcing challenges amongst
affiliates.
2 By definition affiliates are small so capacity to find solutions to internal
operational challenges is difficult - in terms of time, expertise and cost. For
example, Napo would like to have cutting edge integrated ICT platforms that
could make our membership, finance and communications more efficient
and effective with a direct benefit for supporting activists, campaigning and
organising. This is difficult as we have limited time and expertise to devote to
this and options can be disproportionately expensive.
3 This BCGM believes that through the safe space provided by the GFTU,
common challenges can be identified and common solutions explored,
extending to shared commissioning and economies of scale in areas such
as ICT, insurance and internal financial support, internal legal services, and
aspects of HR support.
4 This principle can extend to shared commissioning of research into common
bargaining challenges, with the GFTU brokering this via their network of
academics.
5 Indeed, this BCGM believes the GFTU is uniquely placed to promote, co-
ordinate and broker such sharing across affiliates.
Therefore, this BCGM calls upon the GFTU to:
A include opportunities to specifically promote this sharing in the GFTU annual
events programme.
B create a working party of union sharing champions
Domestic violence victims in the Family
Court System
1 This BGCM welcomes the announcement of an emergency review of the
Family Court system on the need to afford greater protection to the victims
of Domestic Violence and the prevention of the situation where perpetrators
may cross examine their victims at hearings. This practice serves only to re-
victimise and passers the power to perpetrators in a system which is there to
protect victims. This anomaly is already prohibited in the Criminal Courts.
Motion 4
NAPO
Motion 5
NAPO