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Unite Against Fascism Gig Manchester I have been in touch with 'Kick Racism Out Of Football' who are on board and have given us permission to use their logo on promotional material. I have been in touch with Manchester United who has promoted the gig on Man Utd Radio. I arranged with the PCS organisers in the Northwest and the Midlands to have the information sent out to all branches in their area. I have contacted all the Students Unions in Manchester and sent the information out to young activists in the NW TUC. I have sent the flyer and information to Jo Thair at head office and it has been added to the youth pages on the national website, as well as on the main page under the events section. The flyer has also been added to the regional website. The committee would like to thank John Colbert for producing the posters and flyers and all NW branches for their support. We are pleased to say that we are expecting CWU young activists from all over the country. TUC Speakers In Schools
TUC Motion The NW CWU welcomes and fully supports the TUC initiative of 'Speakers in Schools' The trade union movement still has substantial work to do in order to ensure that young workers entering the jobs market are aware of Trade Unions and are engaged. The NW CWU believes 'Speakers in Schools' is fundamentally one of the most important initiatives for the Trade Union movement today and requires more coherent drive to engage young people effectively. Therefore the NW CWU instructs the NW TUC to draw up an action plan and re-launch the initiative of 'Speakers in Schools' ensuring that effective support is in place to deliver the action plan. Northwest Regional Youth Meeting Mike Keenan head of employment law at Walker Smith Way solicitors led a workshop on employment issues affecting young people at the Northwest Regional Youth Meeting. It was the first time the committee had incorporated a training session into it's meeting and it proved to be extremely successful. Mike ran sessions on minimum wage, agency workers and age discrimination legislation. The meeting was very well attended and the committee would like to thank Liverpool Clerical for hosting the meeting and providing lunch. Regional Youth School on campaigning and communications The Region plans to hold a two day youth course on campaigning, media & communications in July at the NW Central Amal premises in Stockport. Once we have the green light from the Education Dept we will advertise the course to all branches in the NW. Raise political awareness among young members The committee still intends to host a 'question time' type event for young members to attend but this has been postponed until October or November. I have had difficulty getting a Conservative MP to attend. I have contacted Nigel Evans again asking if there is a Saturday in October or November when he would be available. I have also written to Brian Binley, MP for Northampton. I met Brian Binley at the House of Commons, shadowing Geraldine Smith and am hoping he may be more receptive. Write and develop youth page on NW regional website The Northwest regional youth pages have been updated and the NW region now has it's own page on the national website. Interact with other unions regarding youth issues
Working with the Retired Members Committee The retired members committee has on its campaign plan to work with the youth committee. In order to facilitate this I have attended a retired members meeting, the recent NW retired member’s forum and the retired members’ conference. It has been agreed that I will write to all NW MP's on the subject of the state pension. I will meet with NW Retired Members Secretary Stan Skinkis to discuss working together on a campaign I am in the process of designing around the issue of fuel poverty. Working with the Midlands Regional Youth Committee I attended the Midlands Regional Youth Committee meeting on Friday 9th May. The Midlands committee is in the process of establishing itself. By way of assisting the Midlands region it has been agreed that the NW Regional Youth School will be jointly attended by young activists from both regions. I will contact Midlands Regional Secretary, Lee Barron when the date for the school is confirmed so that he can publicise the youth school. I have invited Midlands Regional Youth Secretary, Gareth Eales to attend the next NW regional youth meeting. Fujitsu I have written to Birmingham Fujitsu Branch on behalf of the committee to express our support for their members now facing redundancy. Summary The Northwest has two new Youth Officers - Thomas Prosser, Merseyside & Southwest Lancs and Andrew Carney, Girobank Bootle. The committee continues to grow, with 5 new attendees at the recent regional meeting. James Ellis, Manchester Clerical has agreed to provide support in the form of editing reports and stories to be circulated or added to the website. I am hoping it will be possible to hold another Love Music Hate Racism event , later in the year in Liverpool which will provide the opportunity for newer committee members in that area to become more involved. |
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Maeve Kennedy,
Regional Youth Secretary, reports on committee activities so far this year 
There is the possibility of a third band joining the line up and there will be a DJ. Lisa has also set up a Facebook group which she has kept regularly updated and this now has 96 members. 
The posters and flyers have arrived and have been distributed to branches and Carl and I will write a press release to send out nearer the time.
The CWU submitted a motion to the NW TUC conference, which was seconded by PCS and carried. The PCS Regional Secretary in his new capacity as NW TUC Chair is to make the In2School project one of his top priorities and to have more co-ordinated approach to the project. 
I have contacted Paula Wood, PCS Northwest Organiser. It has been agreed that CWU NW youth committee and PCS will circulate information about events that may interest young activists in either union. I will meet Paula soon to discuss the possibility of joint training events and will also discuss the possibility of a joint Love Music Hate Racism event to take place later in the year.