National secretary Amit Malde, London secretary Corneil Power and national vice-chair Kasey LeGall of the FBU’s black and ethnic minority members (BEMM) section attended the TUC black workers’ conference in London. Amit Malde reports
Each union’s equalities section could submit one motion for debate and vote, with one from the conference going forward to the TUC congress in September.
In addition to the 20 motions, guest speakers included FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, who spoke in his capacity as TUC president.
Workshops and fringe meetings covered subjects including mobilising the black vote and fighting the far right. Palestine solidarity was a strong theme throughout the weekend.
Last year, the FBU put forward an uncontroversial resolution on health and safety in the fire service. This year we opted for a resolution with wider relevance. The FBU’s All Different All Equal (ADAE) policy provides a process for the union to withdraw representation from members who engage in bullying and discriminatory behaviour.
The policy is evolving constantly, subject to analysis and suggestions, especially at our own conference. It has proven to be a vital tool for dealing with accusations of bullying, discrimination and harassment, and we thought it would have a positive effect in the wider trade union movement.
The motion asked the TUC to research the feasibility of rolling out a similar policy for other unions. The motion was debated towards the end of the conference and was proposed by Sister LeGall.
Until this point in the conference, all resolutions had been passed unanimously. This motion, however, provoked heated debates, with 12 out of the 21 assembled unions speaking on it, with a range of viewpoints.
Some delegates said they feared the policy would be imposed on their union, or that it would expose challenges and vexatious complaints.
BEMM is grateful to delegates from the Prison Officers’ Association who researched the policy and its implications in advance, and rebutted many of the concerns.
Despite these clarifications, reinforced during the right to reply by Brother Malde, the motion fell, with 37 in support, 20 abstaining, and 97 against. A large bloc had voted for the motion originally, but switched position when it came to the manual recount.
BEMM noted the rationale of those who are opposed to the motion, and is determined to bring it back to next year’s TUC black workers’ conference.
We still feel strongly that such a policy is of great value, and that any union introducing a policy based on it would be making an important statement on its commitment to reducing bullying and discrimination.
