CWU to Congress: ‘Come & support our pickets tomorrow’

October 19 2022

 

Day Two morning round-up – TUC delegates give unanimous backing to emergency motion on our dispute…

“Come and join us supporting our pickets in Brighton tomorrow,” urged our senior deputy general secretary (SDGS) Tony Kearns as he moved an emergency motion from the CWU to Congress this morning.

Cheers, applause and a standing ovation greeted the end of Tony’s speech, in which he roundly condemned the conduct of Royal Mail bosses during the current national dispute.

The company’s claim that our union is opposed to change was “a lie,” said our SDGS, who highlighted the Pathway to Change agreement that CWU and Royal Mail had signed up to only last year.

“What we won’t have is them breaking up this company and engaging in a race to the bottom,” he continued, exposing senior management plans to employ new starters on 20% lower wages and a longer working week.

“They want to smash this union – but we say ‘No’. No more attacks on our members and their terms and conditions,” Tony insisted. Looking ahead to the nationwide strike set for tomorrow, he invited everyone present to visit a local picket line.

“Set your alarms and come along at 7.30 tomorrow.”

Organising to win…

Our CWU president also talked about the major industrial disputes our union is involved in – 8n BT as well as Royal Mail – when she spoke at an earlier session focused on organising and rebuilding our movement.

Setting out the basic principles of our New Deal for Workers campaign, Karen explained how important it is now to link industrial action with community campaigns – and that this strategy is the best route to victory.

‘We must unite like never before’, she concluded, urging delegates to back the motion.

This debate also featured memorable speeches from the Unite union’s general secretary Sharon Graham and Mick Lynch, who leads the RMT rail union.

Defending workers’ safety…

Fiona Curtis, an acting CWU national officer, gave a detailed argument for proper protections to be introduced for  employees working in high temperatures. Citing our own telecoms field engineers and postal delivery workers, she explained the potential damage to health and the urgent need for statutory standards.

Health and safety at work featured in several debates this morning, with a call for better resourcing of the Health and Safety Executive, as well as a discussion on the abuse public-service workers can face from customers.

Congress also discussed the UK’s media, freelance workers’ rights and funding for further education.