National Young Members Forum 02/11/07

This was an incredibly packed meeting with three guest speakers, with incredibly interesting topics to discuss.

A speaker from TUSDAC (Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee), a joint Trade Union/Government body talked about greening the workplace issues and the broader policy issues around climate change. It was good to hear what trade unions are doing, and there was plenty of experience in the room from young members trying to tackle green issues in the work place. It was also interesting to here the important role of internationalism, particularly with American trade union having originally pressured their Government not to ratify Keyoto.

The National Young Members Forum will be jointly hosting an event with Yorkshire & Humberside for Young Members in the region on organising around green issues. This is particularly important as we haven't had much participation from that region in the young members structures.

We also had Stephanie Peacock the Young Members rep on the Labour Party NEC spoke about her role representing young people within the Labour Party and what she's been up to since she got elected onto the NEC at Labour Youth Conference last year.

Deborah Littman spoke around Minimum/Living Wage issues. It was intersting to here how UNISON has been working on these issues, and with next year being the 10 year annaversiry of the national minimum wage's introduction. The NMW has made a huge difference to workers in the UK, especially women. But there are still issues with the lower youth rates and exemption for modern apprentices. On the Youth Rates, UNISON has once again made a submission calling for those rates to be fased out with the adult rate from 18 then being extended to 16. I believe the anneversary year gives us another opportunity to challenge this discrimination. On the issue of apprentices, this is going to become a much bigger issue within the public sector in the future. The Forum agreed to submit a motion to health conference I had drafted on apprenticeships and I hope similar motions can go to the other service group conferences. We also agreed to submit it as one of our issues for TUC Young Members Conference.

On the issue of TUC Young Members Conference we will be looking to appoint delegates in a different way this year, subject to approval by the NEC's Policy Development & Campaigns Committee. We have previously had difficulties in filling our delegation from within the forum, as we have a delegation of 12. The proposals will ask regions to put people forward, with different regions given preference in alternate years.