In 2009 each of the representative committees held open meetings at ASLEF head office in Arkwright Road. These meetings were open to all members to attend and provided them with an opportunity to find out about the work of the hosting committee as well as listen to relevant speakers and network with other members.
Women’s Representative Committee Open Meeting
The 2009 WRC open meeting was held in June. Speakers at the event were Barbara Kielim from the Employment Rights Department at Thompsons Solicitors and Tulip Siddiq, the Women’s Officer for London Young Labour.
Barbara spoke on employment issues which specifically affect women in the workplace such as equal pay, part-time working, sex discrimination and maternity rights. She told the meeting about recent cases and rulings and then took questions. The members found her presentation very informative.
Tulip told the meeting about her experiences of being a BME woman in the Labour Party and the struggles that women in particular have in becoming involved in politics.
LGBTRC Open Meeting
Speakers for the 2009 LGBT open meeting were Vic Codling from the Gay Police Association and Ellie Reeves from the Employment Rights Department of Thompsons Solicitors.
Vic is the National Co-ordinator for the Gay Police Association and he spoke to the meeting about the formation of the association and the work that they do now within police forces for LGBT police officers.
Ellie gave a presentation on recent case law about LGBT harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
BEMRC Open Meeting
The guest speaker for the open meeting was Donald Sewell, the last man to pass out on steam. He discussed his times and experiences working as a black man on the railways. The meeting was well attended and members took time to speak to the committee members about issues and concerns they had.
ASLEF Equalities 20 