Annual Conference Report by Gary Creamer

I will first of all like to thank the branch for electing me to represent them on the conference delegation this year.  I have enjoyed and participated in the CWU annual conference now for the past 3 years.

General conference Sunday- Monday (included rules revision)

General Conference began on Sunday at 0900. Various topics concerning issues all of our members face be it disability issues retirement, mental health or political were debated at length.  3 of our branch delegation addressed the general conference over the 2 days Lawrie, Phil and John to which their reviews relate.    Rules Revision also took place where amendments to CWU rules where proposed, debated and voted on. This process although lengthy is needed as wording or generalisation may affect groups within the union more than others.  Rules are also added to further clarify other groups joining the union and these changes have to be passed through conference.  I have listed a small sample of the topics discussed in general conference although one topic I was surprised to see listed was motion 88 on Monday.  This motion was relating to a new health threat which neither I nor any of the delegation knew anything about and thought it only existed in Sci Fi movies.  Nanotechnology is said to be the new asbestos and our Kent Invicta branch thought necessary to call conference to support a register of sites where Nanotechnology is contained. A full list of the dangers of Nanotechnology is awaited pending a response from the national executive as motion 88 was unanimously carried.  This motion made me think if only someone had thought of that when asbestos first came out, future generations may depend on it.

Telecoms & Financial Services Conference’s Tuesday to Friday

This is the part during conference when postal and telecoms split.  Telecoms Group also splits into Engineering and Clerical  for separate debates in the middle rejoining for the last 2 days.  During this conference to which we had 4 delegates and 1 observer all 4 of our delegates contributed to debate.  I personally addressed conference (try telling the Voice magazine that) to move motion 93 where our branch proposed that all telecoms companies clearly define their policy on personal use of computers and what systems where in place to remove the risk of breaching these guidelines.  I had to research the BT computer misuse act.  I did come across changes in the various documents I researched, one thing that did stand out was that only sites that you have specifically asked your managers permission for can be viewed and under no circumstances can any searches be made through search engines or any images, screensavers and desktop backgrounds be downloaded.  Many branches gave speeches of support for our proposition all telling of discipline cases (not specifics) where computer misuse had led to dismissals and court appearances.  Our proposal was unanimously carried and BT has responded, we are awaiting further developments in their firewalls and filtering systems.  The Engineering part of T&FS Conference was most interesting for me, barring the “nanites”.   London Central called for alternative duties for External Engineers when temperatures went over 25 degrees this was not carried; Birmingham’s request for fingerless gloves (which were fit for purpose) for overhead engineers was carried we await response from BT.  The FRS agreement came into debate alongside Performance Improvement Plans; PIP’s and how the group average is the benchmark considering how widespread patches are remote areas and large cities can be under the same manager.  This provoked large support as FRS Agreement annex B which can be found in this website under BT Retail must be adhered to.

All in all a lot of cages were rattled and a few feathers ruffled, hopefully it will make some way to bettering our working and retired lives.