CONFERENCE SEASON IN NEWCASTLE

Thanks to a coordinated effort from activists and officers from the region, Newcastle is playing host to several of this year ' s RMT national conferences, bringing delegates to the city from all over the country

First, health and safety reps converged on York for the first time in the conference's history The conference was opened by regional President Martin McCleary and attended by General Secretary Mick Lynch. The conference focussed on such crucial issues as fatigue, women ' s occupational health, and RSSB guidelines

Next was the well-attended Signallers' Conference, which saw Senior Assistant General Secretary Eddie Dempsey give a passionate speech about standing together and remaining united throughout our current dispute He made the point that we ' re in this for the long run, and that we must remain strong no matter what happens - something that must be remembered despite the Network Rail dispute ending, as the TOCs are still fighting

There was also a very strong showing at the Women's Conference, where Assistant General Secretary John Leach echoed his colleagues' earlier words about solidarity and collective strength. With special guests Huffty McHugh from the West End Women and Girls Centre, and Laura Pidcock from the People's Assembly, the conference was lively and full of debate around vital equality issues, with the conference voting unanimously to fight for better flexible working policies across the transport industry at the AGM in June. North East Regional Council Secretary Jessica Robinson was elected Chair of the National Women's Advisory Committee for the next year, putting the North East front and centre on the national stage once again.

Delegates from RMT also represented the region at the TUC's annual Regional Conference, moving resolutions about last year ' s shameful P&O redundancies and the government's attempts at introducing antistrike legislation.

Next up, the North East will play host to the Disabled Members conference on Wednesday 19th - Thursday 20th April, and the Train Crew and Shunting Grades conference on Thursday 20th - Friday 21st April