Achieving Dreams, Celebrating Success

by Nahid Aslam, Scotland Black Members

The UNISON National Black Members’ Conference took place during the weekend of 16 January in Bristol.

The Conference was appropriately named ‘Achieving Dreams, Celebrating Success’ after the famous “I Have A Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., when he spoke of his desire for a future where blacks and whites, among others, would coexist harmoniously as equals; and the recent USA election victory of Barack Hussain Obama, who became the first Black President of the USA.

Nineteen motions were presented and voted on. This year Scotland did not put forward any motion, however, two of our SBMC members - Tina Makedenge and Rajender Aggarwal - spoke in favour of supporting Motion 18 - ‘Stop British American tobacco industry exploitation of developing countries’.

They were well received for their contribution and we from the Scottish Region were proud to witness their contribution.

All motions were carried except motion 5: Increasing Participating in UNISON’s National Conferences.

The conference business also included: Fringe meetings, a panel debate on Faith and Cohesion in the community and work place, workshops on Equality Reps, Skills and Empowering Members. Also a few Caucus meetings took place too, which focused on issues facing black people.

The conference provided a great opportunity to meet fellow members from other regions.

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