The first day is the Group Conference. DWP, being the largest group in PCS, gets to use the main conference hall. We had excellent seats, in the second row, affording a good view of the top table and the rostrum.
Jane Aitchison, Group President, opened the conference and welcomed delegates and guests. Keith Wylie, Group Secretary, gave his report. The group has 70% membership, which is a fine figure, but can be increased if non-members are targeted for recruitment. The Group Executive Committee has tried to obtain a new learning agreement, but DWP has stalled on this, leaving the 2004 agreement in place. Despite this, there are numerous success stories from Union Learning Reps around the country, initiatives introduced to help members with basic literacy and numeracy.
So, onto the motions. First up was A1, about the campaign against privatisation, which was discussed at the Branch mandating meeting. This was carried after a lively debate. Motion A166, calling on the GEC to negotiate an end to the CSA management's insistence on operating outside the DWP approach to consultation and negotiation, was carried unanimously.
A highlight was Beth's short but effective speech against motion A58. This motion called on the GEC to avoid multi-year pay agreements. Beth argued that such deals, while not ideal, can be the best that our negotiators can get, and that it would be wrong to limit their options.
Numerous motions were debated and voted upon throughout the day, on subjects including managing attendance, pay, PDS and industrial relations.