The TUC Black Workers’ Conference will be held on Friday 11 April to Sunday 13 April 2014.
The venue will be TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.
PCS uses ‘black’ in the political context to encompass members from African, Caribbean, Asian, Chinese, Arabic etc, backgrounds.
The timings of the conference sessions are as follows:
Friday 11th April, 2pm – 5.30pm
Saturday 12th April, 9.30am – 5.30pm
Sunday 13th April, 9.15am – 1.00pm
PCS delegation
PCS will send a delegation to the conference. The complement of the delegation will be NEC members, the NBMC Secretary, nominees standing for election to the TUC Race Committee and branch nominees. The total number of the delegation will be eight. Eligible branch members are entitled to self nominate. An application form (here) MUST be used when applying for consideration. Applicants should also fill in and return the equality monitoring form here.
Branch Secretaries are therefore asked to bring this circular to the attention of eligible members.
Roles and responsibilities
TUC Equality Conferences are important. They provide opportunities for PCS to build support for the union’s campaigns. The Equality TUC Conferences are not primarily a learning event. Conference business is concerned with the debating of policy motions submitted by affiliated unions.
All selected candidates are expected to participate fully in conference proceedings by speaking on at least one motion or ask a question about the progress of adopted policy reported in the TUC Black Workers Conference annual report. Delegates are required to attend for the full duration of conference.
PCS delegation meeting
There will be a pre conference PCS delegation meeting on Friday 11 April 2014. The meeting will be used to support delegates and advise on any developments or policies and answer queries relating to the conference.
Selection criteria
- The criteria for selection of delegates will be:
- The need to achieve a wide mix of union groups and employers
- The need to have a reasonable geographical spread
- The need to encourage more people to take an active role alongside existing experience.
- A representative mix of based on gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.
In considering applications, great weight will be attached to the reasons given for wanting to be a delegate to this important event. So applicants should spend some time outlining their reasons.
Deadline for receipt of nominations
Please ensure that nominations are emailed to Pav Alam National Equality Officer at pav@pcs.org.uk by the closing date of Tuesday 14 January 2014 (mid-day). No nominations will be taken after mid-day on 14 January 2014.
Accommodation, travel and subsistence
Accommodation will be booked in for the PCS delegation. Accommodation, travel and subsistence will be paid from central funds.
To save on costs, it is expected that delegates who live within daily travelling distance of London will travel daily to attend the conference. Accessibility requirements should be discussed with the Equality Department in advance of the conference.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Pav Alam on 020 7801 2683. Fax details can be given, mailing address for applications is:
Pav Alam
PCS Equality, Pay and Policy Department
Public and Commercial Services Union
160 Falcon Road, London, SW11 2LN.
