Grave Suspicions on Membership Entitlement.
What is Gaan On?
A personal view by David Douglass
There are rumblings of concern and anger that the NUM has dramatically changed its rules on membership, and may well have cut loose nine tenths of the members. This of course comes at a time when the future direction of the NUM is up for grabs. It was essential in the interests of transparency and democracy the decision making process was WIDENED to include the input of all those men and women who built this union over decades. People should consult David Douglass’s Facebook page to see the proposals he put forward, but basically this involved consultation and decisions by retired members, widows, ill health retired, sacked men, and of course what few full members remain. It appears this document has been applied in reverse, with all those categories except it seems ill health men, being removed from membership. The purpose being to MINIMISE the number of people making the decision on the future direction of the union. Worse still, none of those members were even consulted or informed they were now losing the membership they had been awarded. Just how in justice you can take away the membership of men who paid their subs till the point at which they retired and were awarded life membership, with a retrospective decision to which they are not even informed is baffling and may well end up being tested in the courts. We are not fans of the Tory labour laws or their appeal procedure’s, but all attempts to raise this matter through the internal bodies of the union are being blocked and complaints ignored.
Just WHO made this decision? It seems it can’t have been the men from the last branches of the NUM and now there are no branches since there are no pits. Whoever and however this decision was made it is unjust and unfair and probably unlawful. It needs rescinding NOW!
Members and retired members should write into the NEC, C/O the President at the Barnsley offices and demand clarification on the decision and demand a full open conference of all members who were members up to the point of this alleged rule change.