RMA News
RMA
News - May 2008
By the time you read this you will have already received all the information on our AGM/Conference which we are holding in Sligo. I also hope that you have already booked your room and are all set to see the beautiful northwest. Many people have expressed how they missed the Spring Break which we suspended this year because Easter was so early, well now you have the opportunity to make up for that with our package for Sligo including the extra day to visit the beautiful west coast of Donegal. If you have not received the information please contact me and I will send out the details.
Please be patient with us as we try to streamline our database. I know I have spoken about it so often that you must wonder what the problem is, well just consider the €50 million spent on e-voting and the problem the Garda are having with the PULSE programme not to mention the HES – I jest of course, but be patient and if you are not receiving correspondence inform me and please do not take it personally. Another point of communication that I mentioned before - and some people took it personally - is a practical issue. If you leave a telephone message for me to call back please give your name and number at a pace that allows me to record it by writing it down. It often happens that as I am writing down the caller’s name the number has already been stated.
We have had a second local meeting; this was held in Kildare on the 5th March. There was a great response and everybody enjoyed the afternoon, it was informative and also had a social aspect to it. We plan to roll out this programme to every Area in the coming months.
Hope to see you in Sligo,
Christy Conville,
Secretary
RMA News – February 2008
First I would like to wish you all a very happy new year, some people think that for pensioners time just drags but for me - and I’m sure for most of you - time just flies. This year promises a lot of change.
For one we will have a new General Secretary which prompts me to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Jim Dorney for all his service to us over the past twenty five years. The prestige of the TUI in the education world is in no small way attributed to the work of Jim over that time, not only is he the longest serving General Secretary among the teachers unions but is held in the highest regard. It also prompts me to welcome and congratulate our new General Secretary Peter Mac Menamin, we wish him every best wish on his new and responsible role and are confident that we will have as positive a relationship with him as we did with Jim.
This brings me to reflect on the relationship between the RMA and the TUI. Last year saw a lot of discussion and meetings on this very issue. Almost a year ago we had one of the largest meetings ever organised by the RMA. Over eighty members from all over the country turned up at the Ashling Hotel and after a most acrimonious meeting the overwhelming majority voted to accept that we were part of the TUI and subject to the decisions of Congress and the Executive. This was followed by the TUI Congress in Donegal in April where again the overwhelming majority voted for an Executive motion giving us a constitutional position as Pensioned Members. This was followed by our own AGM in Wexford in May where some members tried to re-run the Ashling motion and to reject the Congress motion, again the overwhelming majority rejected this attempt and approved the decision of both meetings. Unfortunately these people are still trying to re-write the plot and are ignoring the democratic will of the members of both the TUI and the RMA.
In practice the relationship between the TUI and the RMA is so positive and essential that without it we could not function as effective and efficiently as we do – not withstanding the constant need we have to improve our service to you. You would not be reading this article if we did not have this relationship, and you would not be receiving the Newsletter either. You would not receive your Diary nor would you have the voice that we have. Of course we will always have differences and expectations but these must be dealt with through discussion and compromise, we cannot always have our own will.
I can confirm that our AGM/Conference will be held in the Great Northern Sligo and may we look forward to a happy and peaceful time there.
Christy Conville.