11am to 4pm, Saturday 2nd
August GWRSA/Railway Club, Wellington Rd, Bridgwater,
Somerset, TA6 5HA
Speakers:
 |
| Dave Chapple (Bridgwater TUC) |
Marie Hughes
South West TUC Regional Education
Officer
Trish
Lavelle CWU National Education Officer
Becca
Kirkpatrick Co-editor Trade Union
Solidarity
Shan
Maidment TU studies tutor, City of
Bristol College
Carole
Vallelly GMB Southern Region/TUC
tutor
Nigel
Costley, Secretary, South West TUC
Dave Chapple,
Bridgwater TUC
Ian Manborde,
Ruskin College
Richard Ross
London Metropolitan University
Cost is £5
per person which includes buffet lunch. Places are limited: please register in
advance if possible, make cheques out to
“Bridgwater Trades Union Council” and send to Dave Chapple, Conference Organiser,
1 Blake Place, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 5AU. Further details phone 07707 869
144 or e-mail davechapple@btinternet.com
Programme
 |
| Nigel Costley (SW TUC) |
10.30am to
11am: registration tea and coffee
11am:
welcome: Vicki Nash, Somerset NUT and President Bridgwater TUC
11.05am:
First session: Chair, Andy Newman, GMB, White Horse (Wiltshire) TUC
Speakers:
Marie Hughes, Trish Lavelle, Dave Chapple
11.50am:
discussion
12.30pm:
Second session: Chair, Glen Burrows, RMT, Bridgwater TUC
Speakers:
Nigel Costley, Shan Maidment, Richard Ross
1.15pm:
discussion
2PM BUFFET
LUNCH AND LICENSED BAR
2.40pm:
Third session: Chair: Richard Capps, PCS, vice-Chair South West TUC
Speakers:
Carole Vallelly, Ian Manborde, Becca Kirkpatrick
3.25pm:
discussion including conference follow-up
4pm: Close
of conference
The last few generations have seen, overall, both a
crisis and decline in the general field of what used to be called working-class
education. Despite substantial government Union Learn funding, now of course
under severe pressure, and some impressive internal trade union shop steward
programmes, the subsidised and ‘liberal’ ‘adult education sector where many of
us learned the theory and practice of socialism has almost disappeared.
This
conference is a ground-breaking attempt to address this crisis, asking these
questions amongst many others: would the
internet have destroyed adult ‘liberal’ education without any government cuts?
Do any trade unions educate their members for socialism or merely effective trades
unionism? Can a volunteer/community-led strategy restore cuts to Union Learn
and adult evening courses?
What about the left-wing political parties, including
Labour and the Greens? What are the strategies to restore a once-thriving
Independent Working Class Education as part of the workers’ emancipation
project? Do TUC courses succeed in teaching solidarity between workers in
different unions? Could local trades councils play a new educational role?
These of
course are only a few possible ways of approaching our conference subject: make
sure you raise yours! Our speakers will all, hopefully, give us personal reflections
of all their years teaching workers, as well as their own ideas for future
education campaigns.
Bridgwater GWRSA/Railway Club is 100 yards from
Bridgwater rail station at the east end of Wellington Rd. Car parking in
adjacent station car park. Bridgwater station is served by an hourly train
service throughout the day, arriving from Bristol at 40 minutes past the hour
and from Taunton at 15/20 minutes past the hour. Bridgwater is also easily
accessible from the M5 motorway with two junctions: north (Dunball/Junction 23)
and south (Huntworth/Junction 24). The GWRSA/railway club itself is one of the
national network of railway clubs which in themselves are an important part of
working-class history-they were funded by the employers, and so can be
understood both as social concession or dangerous palliative. However, you will find the Bridgwater GWRSA a
friendly, thriving but last-surviving local working class club. We look forward
to seeing you on 2nd August!
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