Callum Adams reports back from GMB Young Members Summit
At the end of last year delegates from Southern region attended the unions national Young Members Summit. Here Callum Adams one of the delegates reports back on the weekend.
In November, myself and fellow delegates from the GMB Southern Region attended the GMB Young Members’ Summit in Manchester. With delegates from across the country, we set the agenda for the GMB Young Members’ Network for the next twelve months.
We elected a new committee comprising of our Chair, Dave Hamblin; our Secretary, Beccie Ions; two Communications Officers, Ross Holden and Ruth Pitchford; two CEC Observers, Craig Dawson and Holly Ferguson; and two TUC Forum Delegates, Jawad Khan and Kiri Quinn.
The Summit also passed three campaign motions for the next year: The first from GMB Midlands and East Coast, which is to focus on increasing protection for the self-employed as an increasing number of people adopt this style of working. The second motion is from GMB Scotland who want to see increased training made available for the next generation of union leaders. Finally GMB Southern’s own motion which seeks to campaign against detrimental changes to the welfare system imposed by the current government that disproportionately impact young people and their ability to access a decent standard of living.
GMB Southern delegates also took the opportunity, before the Summit began, to protest outside a local Marks & Spencer’s over their unfair treatment of agency workers that form part of their business operations.
When the Summit opened we were addressed by the GMB’s new General Secretary Elect, Tim Roach, who appears dedicated to seeing the work of the GMB’s young members to playing a major role in the GMB’s future.
Overall the Summit was an excellent experience for all those that attended with a high quality of debate and detailed exploration of the issues that affect young workers. Over the coming year GMB Young Members will have a lot to get involved in and a lot of opportunity to make a difference to the lives of young people across the country.
