RMT Black And Ethnic Minority Members Newsletter October 2012

This article is taken from the BEM newsletter which you can view and download below

Members' Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee meets three times a year and its role is to advise the Council of Executives on issues relating to black and ethnic minority members.Items are submitted to the Advisory Committee by Branches and Regional Councils.The three-year term of office for members of the National Black and Ethnic Minority Members’ Advisory Committee finishes at the end of this year.

Nominations from Branches are currently being sought for delegates to serve on this Advisory Committee from January 2013 until December 2015. Please inform your Branch Secretary if you want to be nominated.

London and South East Black and Ethnic Minority Members' Advisory Committee.
Our local committee meets regularly, on the third Thursday of every month. Besides attending conferences and meetings, we have an active involvement with branches, producing newsletters, assisting and organizing campaigns. Our experienced reps and activists can provide advice on most race-related matters as requested.

Organisation in the workplace
We have successfully achieved a number of victories in recent times. RMT member Jayesh Patel was successfully reinstated to his substantive train op role after our intervention. We campaigned for Train op James Masango successful reinstatement, after a three-year struggle on the dole and all the way to employment tribunal. We have been prominently involved with saving other member’s jobs too.

When required we have created a fresh impetus to kick-start member’s campaigns. We played an active part in increasing awareness in all structures of the union,as well as in the workplaces. Our unique views formed by our collective experiences have enabled us to formulate winning strategies.Besides individual cases of discrimination, we help ensure that BEM issues are at the forefront of our unions thinking, especially in regards to precarious workers.

The injustices faced by our cleaner grades and canteen workers have been a long-standing battle for everyday rights.We have been instrumental with organizing recruitment campaigns, preparing for industrial action and keeping the membership informed. To continue our work we need as many involved members, as possible.Subscribe to the BEM mailing list today on the RMT main website, under the Black & Ethnic member’s link.

Support RMT Equalities - Black members And The Cuts
A number of motions at the 2012 National Advisory BEM Conference raised concerns about the impact of the government’s spending cuts on various parts of our industry and called on our Council to resist the cuts through campaigning and use of the public sector equality duty.

The Council recognised that equality needs should be a key element of any campaign, highlighting the need for us to undertake community organising. The government recently announced that it is going to repeal sections of the Equality Act, less than two years after the legislation was introduced. This includes getting rid of third party harassment, and, taking away the power of tribunals to make recommendations or
allow the use of equality questionnaires to employers who serially bully and discriminate against their staff.

"We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace."

Young black males already withstand the worst of the economic downturn, with 1 in 4 unable to find employment. Young black women are next in the list of recently released statistics of persons most adversely affected by the government’s austerity measures. The stark reality is that we really are all in this together, only not in the way the Tories suggest.

There has never been a more important time than now to get involved with your union

The Progressive union
RMT is a progressive, democratic and highly professional trade union, a fast growing union with more than 80,000 members from almost every sector of the transport industry - from the mainline and underground railways, shipping and offshore, buses and road freight.RMT takes equal opportunities seriously. This means listening to women, black and ethnic minority, lesbian, gay and bisexual and transgender members.

We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace. Members do make a difference and by joining together, we can change things for the better. Join us in our fight for equality – make your voice heard!