Report: RMT Disabled Members’ Advisory Committee online meeting, 19 June 2020

We held a minute’s silence for people affected by Covid-19.

 

Updates on previous resolutions:

  • Mental health disabilities and MFA policies: Committee members now have a list of all companies the union has contacted about this, so will press for responses and talks.
  • Premises audit: We are still awaiting this.
  • Disabled members and RMT’s website: There will be an online meeting during the next couple of weeks with the General Secretary and the DMAC members appointed by the last DMAC meeting (Chair, Vice Chair, Neil Owen, Martin Dean, Tracey Evans, Paul Greany, Nick Brown, Esther Burns, Andy Robbins, Richard Constable, James Denny, Adrian Morgan).

RMT’s National Executive Committee has agreed to circulate our accessibility guide for branch meetings, with a minor amendment. The next accessibility guide we will draft will be on making branches dyslexia-friendly (David King to write).

 

We passed resolutions from branches on:

  • Disabled members in Scotland
  • Reflection rooms
  • Disabled passengers and timetable changes
  • Centenary of the Blind People’s March
  • Conference Chair’s expenses
  • Covid-19, disabled members and carers
  • Online training on disablity

You can read them here: https://www.rmtlondoncalling.org.uk/content/resolutions-passed-rmt-disab...

 

All the conferences we were scheduled to have attended this year have been cancelled or postponed. We await updates on when and in what format they will be reconvened.

Our chair will review our Campaign Plan for the current circumstances.

 

Neurodiversity

  • We discussed ‘Situational Judgement Tests’ and how they discriminate against autistic and other neurodivergent applicants. We have a policy on this, and will continue to pursue it with employers.
  • We agreed to support the campaign to free Osime Brown, a black, autistic young man who was unjustly imprisoned and is now under threat of deportation.

 

Several members of the Committee reported on disability-related cases and campaigns in their workplaces.        

We agreed to issue a statement in support of Black Lives Matter.

We agree that at our next meeting (scheduled for 26 October), we would have an agenda item on how the union deals with prejudiced actions, statements and conflict within its own ranks.