2006: First Race Consultative Committee Motions Adopted at AAD

In May 2006, the first motions from the Race Consultative Committee were adopted at conference.

Four men sit at a purple desk which has an ASLEF logo on it. They have screens, water, and papers in front of them. On the right, a man stands at a lectern which also has an ASLEF logo on it.

The BEM Committee was represented by delegate Paul Patmore (district 2). The first motion on Guantanamo Bay had an amendment from Derby Branch:

This AAD condemns the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. We believe this camp violates Cuban sovereignty and is being used to illegally hold political prisoners and prisoners of war from the Iraq conflict.

At Guantanamo, some of the 550 detainees have been held without charge and without access to lawyers since the camp opened in 2002.

We further believe that the practices at this camp of highly aggressive interrogations and holding people without charge or access to the law and without contact with their families for extended periods violates the detainee’s human rights.

We therefore instruct the Executive Committee to campaign for closure of Guantanamo Bay prison camp and to raise these concerns within the TUC and the ASLEF Parliamentary Group

Amendment by Derby – After line 9. New paragraph:

This AAD notes that the UN secretary general Kofi Annan called for the United States to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay as soon as possible. Conference also notes that on 16 February 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair described the prison at Guantanamo Bay as an ‘anomaly’.

Race consultative committee motion

The second motion was regarding diverse recruitment in the driving grade:

This AAD welcomes diversity and notes with concern the few numbers of members we have who are black or from an ethnic minority (BEM).

We believe that the problem arises when companies are recruiting and that their recruitment practices may inadvertently either not be attracting BEM potential drivers or may be ‘weeding them out’ as part of their recruitment procedures.

We further believe that there are great potential benefits to TOCs and FOCs of recruiting drivers from more varied ethnic backgrounds which will then more closely match the ethnicity of the passengers they are carrying.

We therefore instruct the Executive Committee to:

1. Actively pursue this matter through the TOCs and FOCs wherever possible

2. Place the matter on the Company Council Agenda and raise it with local level reps

3. Produce a best practice guide for TOCs and FOCs wanting to increase recruitment of BEM drivers

RACE CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MOTION

Both motions were adopted unanimously by delegates at the conference

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