REAL LIVES Retired members
BY HAJERA BLAGG
‘A REAL CREDIT TO UNITE’
Unite believes every member has a contribution to make to society – and Glasgow’s Unite retired members’ branch is a particularly good example of our members campaigning for change.
Unite retired member and branch equalities officer, Anita Shelton(pictured) says that members have been involved in a host of initiatives, such as a bus pass campaign late last year.
The group, alongside Unite Community, hosted an event on the UN international day of older persons to highlight the importance of concessionary travel.
“Especially in a place like Scotland where you have so many rural, remote areas, concessionary travel is a massive health and social benefit,” Anita reported.
She explained that Holyrood had considered limiting the concessionary travel OAPs receive by changing the age of eligibility, among other proposals.
“In Scotland, where in rural areas so many bus routes have been discontinued, diminishing the bus pass in any way would make so many older people practically captive in their homes,” Anita noted.
The event hosted at the Sauchiehall pedestrian district, a major commercial area in Glasgow, was a major success.
Our retired members are very much a part of Unite’s campaigns pensioners and us all,” he said.
“We got hundreds of signatures for our petition which we delivered to Holyrood,” she said. “The support was really fantastic. It was great working together with young people from Unite Community too. So many of our political leaders want to create antagonism between the generations but we work to minimise these divisions.”
Following their day of action, there so far has been no change to the bus pass.
Anita adds their retired group has a ‘rapid response team’ to help support industrial members’ action – most recently they came out in solidarity for Sports Direct and Glasgow Council workers.
The retired members have also acted as a pressure group on a number of issues affecting pensioners such as fuel and funeral poverty.
“I’ve been a trade union member for decades and I’m very happy that Unite has given retired people the structures so that we can still be involved,” she said. “The union recognises that pensioners still have an important contribution to make.”
Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner agreed. “We’re so proud of the contributions our retired members have made in support of our members industrially and in their wider communities on issues that affect both
19 uniteWORKS Spring 2018
“Groups like the Glasgow Branch are a real credit to the union and Unite is doing all it can to include retired members and make sure they remain an active part of our union family. Solidarity – no matter what your working status or generation – is the key to lifting us all up in our fight for social and economic justice.”
Find out more about how you can get involved as a retired member on the Unite website
www.unitetheunion.org or contact you regional office – details on page 35.
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