INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE OPA
The inaugural meeting of the Council of the Occupational Pensioners Alliance (OPA), (the organisation which resulted from the merger of COPAS and AoP), was held at 11:00 on Thursday 30 October 2003, at the ISTC, 334 Grays Inn Road, London WC1. This was the first meeting of the councillors chosen by COPAS and the AoP to run OPA

GENERAL MEETING (EGM):
An EGM was held on Monday 22nd September 2003, at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ.

It was decided to proceed with the merger with the AoP and to call the new organisation the Occupational Pensioners Alliance (OPA)

COUNCIL:
A special meeting of the COPAS Council was held on Tuesday 2nd September 2003.

The purpose of the meeting was to agree the wording of of a document giving additional and expanded information to COPAS members about the matters to be discussed and decisions to be taken at the EGM. (See below)

Regional Meetings:

Members of COPAS come from many parts of the United Kingdom. A regional structure is being developed so that members in each geographic location can meet regularly and exchange views and problems. A group in the London & South Eastern Region has been successfully developed since 1998 and one in the North-West Region has just held its fifth meeting.

Regional meetings are open to all pensioners - membership of COPAS not being required to come.

North-West Region
A most successful meeting was held on 3rd September 2003, at the Radway Green Sports & Social Club, with 25 attendees.

A previous meeting was held on Thursday 8th May.
The guest speaker was the Shadow Minister for Works and Pensions - Oliver Heald MP

A meeting of the London & South-Eastern Group was held on Thursday 5th February 2004 at the Riverside Arts Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames. Our guest speaker was Roger Turner, the new Executive Officer, now that we have changed and become OPA.

The meeting before that was held on 25th September 2003, Malcolm Wicks MP, the Minister for Pensions, spoke to us and answered our questions.

The meeting before that was held on Thursday 26th June, at the Riverside Arts Centre, in Sunbury on Thames. The leaders of Pensioners' Associations were able to discuss their pension problems, with each other. The Chairman of COPAS described our current position concerning the joining up with a number of other pensioners' associations.

Annual General Meeting, 20 May 2003
The AGM of COPAS covering the year ending 31st December 2002,
took place at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ at 2:15 pm. In addition to the business of the AGM, we listened to and spoke with Steve Webb, MP