1) Chairpersons Opening Remarks.
Branch Members Deceased – 2019
Mrs Christine Carroll, Mr Robin James Holt, Mr Robert Welch,
Mr Allan Steele, Mr John Hailes, Mr Richard Charles Vant
Mr David Hawtin, Mr Joseph Hawtin, Mr Roy John Salisbury
Mr Brian Lewis, Mrs Joyce Rudd, Mr Norman Mansfield
Mr Brian Marno, Mr Clifford Walden, Mr Edward Court
Mr John Rogers, Mr John Christopher Gilder, Mr Kenneth Sisson
Mr Andy Caldwell, Mr Denis Rawlings, Mr Kenneth Ingram
Mr Dennis Arthur Brooks, Mr Frank John Hobson.
2) Apologies
3) Minutes of the Previous AGM 2019.
Click here(docx) or here(pdf) to download last years AGM Minutes
4) Matters Arising From Those Minutes.
5) Secretary’s Report.
6) Financial Secretary’s Report.
7) Auditor’s Report.
Unfortunately due to illness of one of our branch auditors, the branch audit has not yet taken place.
8) Other Specialist Reports.
a) Political Report
9) Amendments to Branch bye-laws & Election Rules.
10) Election of Branch Officers, Committee, Conference Delegates, Observers, Trustees and Auditors.
11) Nominations and Election of Delegates to Affiliated Bodies.
12) Nominations for NEC and National Officers.
13) Propositions to the Branch and to Annual Conference.
14) Any Other AGM Business.
15) Invited Guest Speaker(s).
6) Financial Secretary’s Report
Financial Reports
| General Fund Balance Sheet 2018 / 2019 | |||||||
| Year 2018 | Year 2019 | ||||||
| B/F from 2017 | £92,563.43 | B/F from 2018 | £95,346.14 | ||||
| Income Categories | |||||||
| Branch Rebate | £102,250.22 | £106,818.89 | |||||
| Death Benefit Refund | £8,633.00 | £13,024.00 | |||||
| Other Income | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||||
| Total Income Categories | £110,883.22 | £119,842.89 | |||||
| Expense Categories | |||||||
| BT Central Billing | £4,200.00 | £5,040.00 | |||||
| Overpayment of Contributions | £20.25 | £24.94 | |||||
| Computers and related equipment | £2,513.25 | £2,491.58 | |||||
| Other Furniture & Equipment | £177.98 | £51.56 | |||||
| Telephones | £2,930.75 | £3,270.46 | |||||
| Postage | £315.76 | £3,746.84 | |||||
| Printing & Publishing | £4,413.49 | £3,576.17 | |||||
| Other Administration Expenses | £3,517.02 | £5,650.56 | |||||
| Death Benefit | £6,320.00 | £17,144.00 | |||||
| Meetings/Subsistence/Travel | £38,864.91 | £35,827.52 | |||||
| Training and Education | £440.18 | £200.25 | |||||
| Honoraria | £4,440.00 | £4,080.00 | |||||
| Annual Conference | £6,278.61 | £5,554.39 | |||||
| Special Conference | £3,820.28 | £1,471.71 | |||||
| Purchase of HO Goods | £0.00 | £3,824.50 | |||||
| Region/Zone Committee Fund | £1,678.00 | £1,741.00 | |||||
| AGM & Meeting Room Costs | £2,615.34 | £719.56 | |||||
| Donation | £3,574.99 | £3,527.49 | |||||
| Affiliation | £1,158.75 | £1,190.50 | |||||
| Other Miscellaneous Expenses | £7,239.44 | £3,798.98 | |||||
| Regional Learning Committee | £255.64 | £178.27 | |||||
| 1% Head Office Defence Fund | £1,022.49 | £1,068.20 | |||||
| 1% Head Office Regional Secretaries | £1,022.49 | £713.11 | |||||
| 0.25% Head Office Regional Womans | £255.64 | £178.27 | |||||
| 2% Regional Committee Fund | £0.00 | £710.18 | |||||
| Welfare Fund | £3,500.00 | £2,000.00 | |||||
| Audit Fee | £200.00 | £200.00 | |||||
| Branch Rebates Withheld | £7,325.25 | £4,352.55 | |||||
| Total Expense Categories | £108,100.51 | £112,332.59 | |||||
| Balance C/F to 2019 | £95,346.14 | C/F to 2020 | £102,856.44 | ||||
| Political Fund Balance Sheet 2018 / 2019 | ||||||
| Year 2018 | Year 2019 | |||||
| B/F from 2017 | £1,172.47 | B/F from 2018 | £1,433.70 | |||
| Income Categories | ||||||
| Branch Political Rebate | £2,845.20 | £2,787.96 | ||||
| Total Income Categories | £2,845.20 | £2,787.96 | ||||
| Expense Categories | ||||||
| Meeting/Subsistence/Travel | £264.94 | £146.54 | ||||
| Donation to CLP | £50.00 | £800.00 | ||||
| Debit to Reg. Political Fund | £569.03 | £557.60 | ||||
| Affiliations to CLP’s | £1,700.00 | £1,945.00 | ||||
| Total Expense Categories | £2,583.97 | £3,449.14 | ||||
| Balance C/F to 2019 | £1,433.70 | C/F to 2020 | £772.52 | |||
| Welfare Fund Balance Sheet 2018 / 2019 | ||||||
| Year 2018 | Year 2019 | |||||
| B/F from 2017 | £1,800.46 | B/F from 2017 | £101.46 | |||
| Income Categories | ||||||
| Received from Branch Funds | £3,500.00 | £2,000.00 | ||||
| Total Income Categories | £3,500.00 | £2,000.00 | ||||
| Expense Categories | ||||||
| Payments & Grants to Members | £5,130.00 | £1,000.00 | ||||
| Other Welfare Fund Expenditure | £69.00 | £72.00 | ||||
| Total Expense Categories | £5,199.00 | £1,072.00 | ||||
| Balance C/F to 2019 | £101.46 | C/F to 2020 | £1,029.46 | |||
| Total Welfare Cases | 11 | 2 | ||||
9) Amendments to Branch bye-laws & Election Rules.
Bye-Law Changes
Revised Welfare Bye-Law (Bye-Law 16)
Point (a)
Welfare Fund trustees shall consist of the Branch Financial Secretary, Welfare Co-ordinator plus three other members of the Branch.
Point (b)
The Welfare Fund Trustees shall have the authority to make payments from the fund subject to the following criteria.
i. Eligibility for a welfare load would require an individual to be a fully paid up member of the Branch for a minimum of six consecutive months.
ii. A maximum of £500 will be paid by a majority decision of the welfare trustees should a grant be awarded.
iii. A member may only receive a maximum of three welfare loans should they be granted. In exceptional circumstances this may be increased only with the unanimous agreement of the welfare trustees.
Ammendment / Addition to Rule 2. The branch will also elect the following officers who will be elected to the branch committee.
To add the post of Deputy Secretary.
10) Election of Branch Officers, Committee, Conference Delegates, Observers, Trustees and Auditors.
The list of members nominated for posts is below, which needs to be ratified en bloc.
| POSITION | NOMINATION |
| a) BRANCH CHAIRPERSON | Gordon Mason |
| b) BRANCH SECRETARY | George Kneeshaw |
| c) BRANCH FINANCIAL SECRETARY | Tim Bond |
| d) BRANCH VICE CHAIRPERSON | Mick Bagnall |
| e) BRANCH EQUALITY OFFICER | George Kneeshaw |
| f) BRANCH POLITICAL OFFICER | Steve Phillips |
| g) BRANCH WOMEN’S OFFICER | Vacancy |
| h) BRANCH YOUTH OFFICER | Travves Brown |
| i) BRANCH BAME OFFICE | Andy Batson |
| j) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – BT | Gary Good |
| k) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – BT | Mark French |
| l) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – BT | Gurjit Dhillon |
| m) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – BT | Eamonn McLaughlin |
| n) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – POSTAL TECH. SERVICES HWDC | Paul Milward |
| o) BRANCH DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY – PTS HWDC | Vacancy |
| p) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – FLEET | Steve Phillips |
| q) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – O2 | Vacancy |
| r) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – BTMSL | Vacancy |
| s) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – MINUTES | Tim Bond |
| t) BRANCH ASSISTANT SECRETARY – HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR | Eamonn McLaughlin |
| u) BRANCH WELFARE OFFICER | Steve Taylor |
| v) BRANCH RETIRED MEMBERS REPRESENTATIVE | Steve Taylor |
| w) BRANCH LEAD UNION LEARNING REPRESENTATIVE | Mick Bagnall |
| POSITION | NOMINATION |
| BRANCH FUND TRUSTEE – WELFARE (3) | 1. Gordon Mason |
| 2. Gary Good | |
| 3. Steve Phillips | |
| BRANCH FUND TRUSTEE – POLITICAL (3) | 1. Steve Phillips |
| 2. George Kneeshaw | |
| 3. Tim Bond | |
| BRANCH AUDITORS (2) | 1. Steve Rance |
| 2. Bob Howard |
13) Propositions to the Branch and to Annual Conference.
Motion proposed by Mick Bagnall
“This conference censures the NEC on its handling of the closure of Alvescot Lodge.
Motion 57 passed at Redesign Conference in November 2018 was quite clear….
Our Branch notes that the review of the Unions assets is mentioned in the introduction of the redesign document but not in any of the sections 1–7. We therefore instruct the NEC to draw up a full strategic financial plan that sets out in a clear and concise way, the projected savings of each of the three elements of the asset review. This should be published to Branches before any final decision is taken to dispose of any Asset or before any special Rules revision conference necessary to enact CWU Policy on the redesign project.
Also, Annual Conference 2019 rejected motion 11 standing in the name of the NEC
This Conference endorses the NEC strategy and recommendations for Education, Learning and Training as published to Branches in LTB 067/19.
However the NEC has proceeded with sale of Alvescot Lodge thus ignoring the wishes and instructions of 2 conferences.“
Motion proposed by Steve Phillips.
“On 1st Oct 2020 BT sold BT Fleet to private equity company Aurelius (Rivus Fleet Solutions) from Germany by way of a share buyout .At the time of the sale our members were assured that BT Fleet was a profitable company and that was why we were attractive to other companies who would invest and give Fleet the capital investment and freedom they could not get from BT. We were assured that the new owners were not asset strippers and this was a fantastic opportunity to secure our members future. However these assurances have proven to be a complete an utter falsehood when less than 3moths later Rivus Fleet Solutions announced in Jan 2020 that they intended to close 11 workshops and reduce the headcount at two more workshops who they claimed were loss making workshops by way of compulsory redundancy this involved 65 staff and 55 team members.
Rivus claim that when they bought Fleet from BT they did not know the true cost of the business or the overheads as this was hidden cost under BT. Since the separation from BT our members have lost BT broadband, BT share save, have been denied joining BT Hybrid Pension, and now have lost their job security with the threat of further workshop closures hanging over them.
Furthermore Rivus are ruthlessly cost cutting in the business and have decided without consultation with the CWU to stop paying our members a higher pay grade allowance, which has been paid for many years under a joining agreed process to carry out equipment test on vehicles which is safety related which Rivus legally have to comply with under lower regulations .
Therefore this conference instructs the T&FS Executive to prevent by all means possible up to and including industrial action any further workshop closures and compulsory redundancies and any further eroding our member’s terms & conditions, pay, sick leave, allowances, attendance patterns, etc by Rivus Fleet Solutions.“
Political Report
CLP Affiliation 2019
Banbury CLP, Beaconsfield CLP, Bedford & Kempston CLP
Bracknell CLP, Buckingham CLP, Chesham & Amersham CLP
Henley CLP, Hertford & Stortford CLP, Hitchen & Harpenden CLP
Luton North CLP, Maidenhead CLP, Milton Keynes North CLP
Milton Keynes South CLP, Newbury CLP, North East Bedfordshire CLP
Oxford East CLP, Oxford West & Abingdon CLP, Reading and District CLP
Stevenage CLP, Uxbridge & South Ruislip CLP, Wantage CLP
Windsor CLP, Witney CLP, Wokingham CLP
Wycombe CLP, Slough CLP, Chesham & Amersham CLP
Hayes & Harlington CLP
14) Any Other AGM Business.
a) T. Bond. Need for agreement to co-op Steve Phillips to the role of Deputy Secretary.