Visit GMB online at www.gmb.org.uk
GMBers
WIN
IN NORWICH
Vivien Thomas and
Vaughan Thomas
have been elected
to the council
don
C
ongratulations to Vivien
Thomas, branch secretary for
Norfolk Public Services N27, who
stood in this year’s local Norwich
City Council election for Mile Cross Ward.
She won with more votes than all the other
political parties combined.
Vivien became involved in the Norwich
Labour Party with the encouragement of
GMB’s political department – at the time,
she was working as a teaching assistant.
Local GMB members, officers and staff helped
with the campaign.
BIG WIN!
ned
GMB member Vivien Thomas campaig
with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Vivien even met up with Jeremy Corbyn on
the campaign trail and the icing on the cake
was Norwich Labour Party taking four seats
from the Green Party, increasing Labour’s
majority on Norwich City Council. No Tory
councillors were elected.
Vaughan Thomas, the N27 branch equality
officer, is also a Norwich councillor, and has
been re-elected. Now he is the city’s cabinet
member for fairness and equality with
responsibility for financial and social
inclusion, equality and diversity, welfare
benefits, digital inclusion, affordable warmth,
sport and halls, and paying the Living Wage.
That’s an actual Living Wage, not the
government’s recent National Living Wage,
which falls short.
“All this was possible thanks to the help
of GMB’s political department, which
encourages and trains GMB members who
want to get involved in their local Labour
Party,” said Thomas. “Any GMB member who
wants to get involved should contact their
branch secretary.”
Retired members update
UNIONLINE was the star at the latest Retired
Members Association meeting…
JAN SMITH
Our Regional RMA secretary.
Our next London Region meeting is
At the last meeting of the London Region
to be held from 11:30am to 2:15pm on 11
Retired Members Association, our speakers were
July at TUC Congress House, 23-28
Tony Warr and representatives of UNIONLINE,
Great Russell St, London WC1B 3LS. Any
GMB’s own legal service for members.
GMB member can attend the meeting
UNIONLINE told RMA members about lasting
and you will be made very welcome.
power of attorney and its importance in ensuring
You do not have to be a retired
one is covered for the future in terms of finance,
member and, indeed, many in our
health and well-being. They also stressed the
group behave the same way they did in
importance of having a will drawn up. It was an
TONY WARR
Spoke at the meeting.
their early 20s, so come along and join
enlightening meeting – wills themselves are so
our lively bunch!
interesting that they could have been the only
item on the agenda! If you’re in a branch, or if
you have an RMA branch and want a good
speaker to attend, we can recommend
gion RMA secretary
the folks from UNIONLINE.
ation contact London Re 01362 858638.
orm
inf
R
re
mo
E
r
Fo
T
I
RE
We welcomed new members to
[email protected] or
FROM
Jan Smith on jan28sm
our committee once again and the
acs, our RMA president
Isa
Joe
ail
Or you can em
W
O
R
K
et.com
London Region RMA is going from
on