NWC Annual School 11th – 13th April 2003
Wortley Hall

This was the 6th Annual Women’s school and the number of students had increased yet again.

Number of Students: 50

Tutors – Marilyn Lawrenson, Lorene Fabian

As this year’s school ran in the middle of the pay dispute, the NWC decided that the focus of the school would be about campaigning and organising. Therefore some of the workshops and plenary sessions were organised specifically for women during the dispute.

Workshops

• Campaigning
• Are women ‘Levers for change’?
• Find your voice
• Assertiveness
• Women’s Health and Safety

Plenary Sessions

• Stop the War – Ghada Rasuki
• Palestine – Linda Smith
• How we organise
• Domestic Violence
• Legislation update from the National Gay and Lesbian Committee
• A transsexual speaker

We also ran a maternity surgery in the evening for women who had queries or problems in the workplace.

The crèche was run by ‘Playtimes’ and was fantastic. They had 35 children to take care of and they organised a talent competition for the evening. The NWC always use ‘Playtimes’ as many of the children now know the workers and trust them. This means that the women can relax and take part in the sessions without worrying.

The schools reviews were fantastic with some useful pointers from the students for next year.

© Fire Brigades Union
Bradley House, 68 Coombe Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT2 7AE
Published by Fire Brigades Union National Women's Committee