Young Members AGM Resolutions 2013

The following resolutions were sent to the young members conference 2013 by branches and passed by the young member delegates.
These two resolutions are to be sent to the RMT Annual General Meeting.

Resolution1) No title (re: A Young members fund)
This conference notes that there is a large amount of surplus money sitting in Branch Management Funds that just gets increases every year.

This money is meant to be spent on activities so we believe that 10% of this surplus money should be put into a development fund for young members to be nominated around the beginning of October.

The fund would be used to encourage young members to get more active and make our union stronger. It would help our active branches who spend their BMF.

The Young Members Advisory Committee would carefully oversee this fund with all expenditure pre authorised and receipts produced on every occasion to ensure transparency.

RMT is proud that our young members are more active and organised nowadays but there is much more we need to do.... we are not a bunch of bankers.

Resolution2) Young Member exchange program

The problems faced by workers on the New York Subway, on Norwegian oil rigs or on domestic boats registered in foreign countries face the same political, social and workplace problems as we do in the UK.
The strategies employed by the bosses to weaken trade unions and reduce workers rights have been well thought out and perfected over time. These strategies are shared through web sites, international conferences, international publications and international consultants.
We have made some excellent steps in the right direction by supporting as well as sending young member delegates to the now annual Global Labour Institute Summer School, the winning in a global workplace education courses at the Doncaster Education School, the work we do with organisations like the GFTU and the International Transport Workers Federation Youth Network.
It is essential that young workers learn about the global labour movement and are able to build strong alliances with young member groups globally.
Though it may seem to many young workers and some young members that trade unions dying irrelevant institutions this is not the case by far. By casting our eye further we can see the huge gains other unions have made, we can also see a great bottom heavy rank and file movement dominated by young members.
We are not alone and by strengthening our links with like minded organising unions with a strong young members structure such as Industri Energi, Maritime Union of Australia and Transport Union of America we have to opportunity to become even stronger.
Such unions with strong young member activists and young members elected into senior positions of their unions have the ability to inspire us and strengthen our resolve.

Therefore this resolution calls for:
i) A young member exchange program to be developed, whereby young members from Industri Energi, Maritime Union of Australia, Transport Union of America, other like minded organising unions with strong young members structures & activists as well those unions which are aspiring for this to be invited to the UK to:
-network with RMT young members
- learn about our unions history
-learn about the challenges we face and how we organise
-have the opportunity to share best practice
ii) Encourage Industri Energi, Maritime Union of Australia, Transport Union of America and other like minded organising unions to develop a similar program in their own countries