GMB CONGRESS 2011 ……………………. SIS. MARY TURNER MBE (President) (In the Chair) ……………………. Held in: The Brighton Centre, Brighton on: Sunday, 5 th June 2011 Monday, 6 th June 2011 Tuesday, 7 th June 2011 and Wednesday, 8 th June 2011 …………………. PROCEEDINGS DAY ONE (Sunday, 5 th June 2011) …………………… (Transcript prepared by: Marten Walsh Cherer Limited, 1st Floor, Quality House, 6-9 Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1HP. Email: [email protected] ……………………….. 1 FIRST DAY’S PROCEEDINGS SUNDAY 5 TH JUNE 2011 MORNING SESSION (Congress assembled at 9.30 a.m.) THE PRESIDENT: Good morning all. To delegates and visitors, welcome to Brighton. I ask all delegates to check that their mobile phones are off, otherwise there is a fine. It is going up with inflation this year. Congress, this year we will be starting Congress with a video montage showing regional and national events and some of the campaigns from last year. Please dim the lights. (Video Montage shown) (Applause) Congress, that shows only part of the campaigns that we have had. That’s our big society, looking after each other. BANNER CEREMONY THE PRESIDENT: Congress, I now move to the next part of the agenda, and this year we have asked London Region to form the Banner Party. I call Congress to order and be upstanding for the Banner. (Congress was upstanding for the Banner) I have two young friends with me, Scarlett McNicol and Hamish McNicol. I thank each and every one of the Banner Party and my region, the London Region, for doing such an excellent job. I now ask you to look at the details of the fire, safety and evacuation procedures on page 115 in the Final Agenda and Congress Guide Document. Please take time to look at these and familiarise yourself with your nearest exists. Once again, I thank all delegates and, in particular, new delegates who are here, who we have a vast number of this year. Our visitors in the public gallery, welcome to each and every one of you. I now introduce you the platform. On my right is my Vice President and saviour, Malcolm Sage. Also sitting next to him is Kathleen Walker-Shaw, our European Officer, who will be helping Malcolm with the lights. So watch yourselves. Welcome, Kathleen. You do a great job in Brussels. I don’t know where we would be at times without you. On my left, I don’t think you know the man but I will introduce him all the same, is our General Secretary and Treasurer, Paul Kenny. (Applause) Sitting next to Paul is Dolores O’Donoghue, our Executive Policy Officer, and she and our team puts us altogether in one piece for this week. I would like to say thank you to all staff who are involved. We do have some various guests and visitors. We have the General Member Auditors, when I find out where they are. I would like to welcome Ian Burkett, Steve Dery and Albert Haynes – they are all from the Midland & East Coast Region – who will count all the votes. 2 I welcome now a very special guest, who is an ex-regional secretary and a great number of you know him, John Cope from the London Region. Welcome, John. (Applause) I now welcome the man who left the President standing on the sidewalk this morning, I welcome Vic Baines, from the Midland & East Coast Region. You’ll pay for that, Vic, I’m telling you. We have also got as a regional guest Vinny Bloor from Birmingham & West Midlands Region. Of course, we would be nowhere without our verbatim shorthandwriters – how they distinguish the speakers sometimes, I do not know – Michael Thear and Phyllis Hilder. Welcome. That completes the announcements. The Congress Hall has an induction loop system fitted, and to use this facility you will need to set your hearing aid to the “T” position. Let’s call it the “Turner” position, so you will remember that. There have been no requests for signers this year. Firstly, could I extend a warm welcome to everyone again. I remind all delegates that Congress sessions are transmitted on GMB Congress TV. This means that your speech will be transmitted live over the internet through the GMB National website. Please make sure you remember to state your name and region clearly. This is especially important this year as we hope to show your name up on the screen. Please also mention if you are a first time speaker. I ask delegates to take a moment to check that you have three important documents. The first is a one page Outline Programme. The second is the Income & Expenditure Statement. These show the annual accounts. The third document is the Final Agenda & Congress Guide. As last year, the Final Agenda & Congress Guide have been combined. This documents includes: motions and CEC rule amendments remaining on the agenda; Standing Orders Committee Report No. 1; SOC guidelines for Congress business, including time limits for speakers; representation statements for Congress; composite motions and fringe meetings, exhibitions and seating plan. All documents are printed on environmentally friendly paper and there are recycling bins in the Hall for paper and plastic. Congress, there is free Fair Trade tea and coffee throughout Congress for all credential holders available from 2 Bar in the Exhibition Area. Please remember to show your credentials badge. I would like to thank our sponsors Pellacraft for all the Congress refreshments; Thompsons Solicitors for the delegate bags; Simpsons Solicitors for the lanyards and Digby Brown Solicitors for sponsoring the GMB Internet Café in the Exhibition Area. ROLL CALL THE PRESIDENT: Would Regional Secretaries please notify the Congress Office of any changes to your delegation. Could I inform Congress that the names of the Regional Tellers who have been appointed are now shown on the screen. (Pause) Can I remind Tellers that they have 3 to stay in the Congress Hall during all sessions, and that delegates must be in their allocated seats when a vote is taken. THE VICE PRESIDENT: I will now give a demonstration on eligibility for voting. I would like everyone in the hall to put your hands up, please. Could the following now please put your hands down: visitors, guests, auditors, full-time officials, regional secretaries, national officers and section secretaries, GMB staff and members of the CEC. Only those of you who still have your hands up now are allowed to vote. Thank you. The members of the Standing Orders Committee and the CEC Observers to the Standing Orders Committee are now being shown on the screen. THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Malcolm. Could I please congratulate Helen Johnson on her election as Chair of the Standing Orders Committee for a fourth year. Very well done, Helen. (Applause) STANDING ORDERS COMMITTEE REPORT NO. 1 THE PRESIDENT: I now call Helen to move Standing Orders Committee Report No. 1, which begins on page 21 of the Final Agenda & Congress Guide document. SIS. H. JOHNSON (Standing Orders Committee Chair, Midland & East Coast Region): I formally move SOC Report No. 1. President and Congress, you will find a copy of SOC Report No. 1 in your Final Agenda starting at page 21. I formally move adoption of that report and in doing so the SOC would like to thank delegates and their regional secretaries for agreeing 23 composite motions that also appear in your Final Agenda, starting at page 92. Would colleagues please note that one further composite motion has been agreed, Composite 21, covering Motions 45 and 46. A copy of this composite will be distributed to delegates later today. Would colleagues also please note the long-standing guidelines for Congress Business on page 15 of your Final Agenda. This will help all of you, especially new delegates, in understanding the procedures and the guidelines that the President and the SOC work to. Withdrawn motions. The SOC has been informed that the following motions have been withdrawn: Motion 5, Union Democracy, standing in the name of Midland & East Coast Region; Motion 6, Accountability and the NAU, standing in the name of Midland & East Coast Region, and Motion 206, European Court of Human Rights, standing in the name of South Western Region. Would Congress delegates please note that if any further motions are to be withdrawn during the week, the following procedure should be adhered to. (1) Notify your regional secretary; (2) The regional secretary should then inform the SOC in writing that the motion has been withdrawn; (3) the SOC will then report the matter to Congress so that all delegates will be aware of the position and will be able to follow the Congress Agenda. Existing policy motions. President and Congress, in 2008 recommendation 14 of the CEC Special Report on the Framework for the Future of the GMB Moving Forward , which had been carried by Congress 2007, came into effect. Motions which were 4 existing policy were endorsed by Congress without the need for debate. This procedure has continued since then. Therefore, the Central Executive Council has advised the SOC which motions are in line with existing policy. The SOC has accepted this advice and is recommending that these motions are put to Congress to be endorsed without the need for debate. You will find that the existing policy motions are listed in SOC Report No. 1 at page 23 of your Final Agenda. You may also find it helpful to refer to the detailed report from the CEC, which is at page 108 of the Final Agenda. This explains when the policy in question was reached.