http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ Weblog of a union leader en http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/images/billyhayes.gif http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ Billy Hayes, weblog of the general secretary of the British Communication Workers Union (CWU). Billy Hayes Copyright 2009 2009-06-25T15:28:17-00:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1067 WINTER GARDENS, BLACKPOOL ON 17 JUNE 2009 AT 1130 A.M. 1067@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ ON 17 JUNE 2009 AT 1130 A.M.


Firstly I want to thank you for the invitation to address your conference. The CWU has good relationships with the GMB.

We work closely in both the TUC and the Labour Party. Your views and policies are frequently also those of the CWU.

In addition, the staff who work at CWU Headquarters are members of the GMB. So I also have to deal with GMB negotiators.

I work closely with Paul in TULO and elsewhere. Whatever the difficulties, I know I can rely upon Paul’s unstinting support.

Now I am sure that GMB members, like CWU members are concerned about the direction of the Labour Government.

We are in the worst global economic situation since the Second World War.

Public support for the Labour Government initially rose as it became clear that state intervention was necessary because of general market failure.

But instead of using public money to nationalise the banks – huge sums have been used to bail them out.

Had the banks been nationalised, then they could have been directed to ensure investment continued. Instead they have used public money to rebuild their market position without increasing the levels of lending.

We have a huge bill – yet no control over the banks.

Compare this to the problem many workers face in the recession. The Financial Times produced the results of a survey last week for the “Keep Britain Working” campaign. This showed that:

“over the past nine months, 27% of UK workers have had their pay cut, 24% have had their hours reduced and 24% have lost benefits.”

The survey showed that 37% had experienced one of these changes.

In addition, there are a growing number of workers who have lost their jobs altogether. The suggestion is that we could see over 3 million unemployed by the end of the year.

Is it any wonder then that there is such public fury over the MPs expenses scandal?

And the current shock comes against the backdrop of a longer term growth of inequality in income.

Since 1997, the top 10% of the income distribution have experienced faster growth in disposable income than the rest of the population.

The top 1% experienced still faster growth.
And the top 0.1% experienced the fastest growth of all.

This is a result of a policy of being “intensely relaxed” about the wealthy becoming wealthier.

Where the Government changes course, then it is becoming more popular. The new top rate of tax is a step towards a more progressive tax system.

Ignore the squeals of the greedy – this is seen by the majority as fairer.

There are obvious problems which the Government is just tinkering with.

The Local Government Association says that 5 million people will be on the Council House waiting list by 2010.

The building industry is collapsing. Houses are not being built. There is an obvious case for Government intervention here. The Government must consider nationalising sections of the building industry.

Councils have got to be given the green light, and finances, to build again.
Unless such moves are made, we will face both a shortage of housing and a renewed bubble in house prices.

The Tories will create a racket about any further spending commitments from Government.

But the Tories also know how unpopular public spending cuts will be.

Look at Cameron’s embarrassment about Andrew Lansley’s gaff over the 10% reduction in education and health budgets.

And the Government can show some balance by cutting areas of real waste.

The most obvious of these is the £75 billion due to be spent on buying and servicing the Trident replacement system.

This is a system dependent on US Armed Forces logistics. Nor can we sensibly envisage using such a terrible weapon of mass destruction.

Further down the spending ladder, the Government could save £5.6 billion by scraping its proposals for ID Cards.

Of course, the Government would do everyone a favour by dropping the proposal to privatise Royal Mail.

In its Election Manifesto 2005, the Government promised the British people that it would not privatise Royal Mail.

Last year, Paul and I, along with the other leaders of the unions affiliated to the Labour Party, negotiated a new Warwick Agreement with the Government.

In that Agreement the Government committed to maintain Royal Mail as ‘Wholly publicly owned and integrated’. This was an important concession which was endorsed by the Labour Party Conference in October last year.

The CWU could not have won that commitment without the support of Paul, and the other TULO leaders.

Yet despite that, a Bill has been placed before Parliament aiming to sell up to 49% of Royal Mail.

We have campaigned hard against this. The Cabinet is very badly split, and 149 Labour MPs had signed up to an Early Day
Motion opposing privatisation.

The Prime Minister knows that to get this legislation through, he will have to rely upon Tory support against the policy of the Labour Party Conference.

The issue is on a knife edge. The public opinion polls show around 80% of the electorate is against privatisation. Yet despite its unpopularity, the Government may still go ahead.

As a Union, we have campaigned widely against the proposal. We have used lobbies, demonstrations, street stalls, visits to MPs surgeries, leaflets, petitions, the whole works.

In all of this, we have been well supported by the GMB alongside others in the labour movement.

I appreciate all the efforts the GMB activists have made on this. Some may say this is not a GMB issue. But I know that you are not so inward looking.

Maintaining a modern, efficient, public postal service is in the interests of a vast majority of people in this country.

In addition Paul, knows that this issue is an article of good faith with the Government. If the Government breaks such a clear promise in the Warwick Agreement on Royal Mail, then every commitment which unions have secured from Government is under threat.

So, this is a big struggle for the CWU and the whole Labour movement. With the support of the union like the GMB, then I am confident we can win.

Thank you for your time – and thanks for listening.


]]> 2009-06-17T13:00:37-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1068 WINTER GARDENS, BLACKPOOL ON 17 JUNE 2009 AT 1130 A.M. 1068@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ ON 17 JUNE 2009 AT 1130 A.M.


Firstly I want to thank you for the invitation to address your conference. The CWU has good relationships with the GMB.

We work closely in both the TUC and the Labour Party. Your views and policies are frequently also those of the CWU.

In addition, the staff who work at CWU Headquarters are members of the GMB. So I also have to deal with GMB negotiators.

I work closely with Paul in TULO and elsewhere. Whatever the difficulties, I know I can rely upon Paul’s unstinting support.

Now I am sure that GMB members, like CWU members are concerned about the direction of the Labour Government.

We are in the worst global economic situation since the Second World War.

Public support for the Labour Government initially rose as it became clear that state intervention was necessary because of general market failure.

But instead of using public money to nationalise the banks – huge sums have been used to bail them out.

Had the banks been nationalised, then they could have been directed to ensure investment continued. Instead they have used public money to rebuild their market position without increasing the levels of lending.

We have a huge bill – yet no control over the banks.

Compare this to the problem many workers face in the recession. The Financial Times produced the results of a survey last week for the “Keep Britain Working” campaign. This showed that:

“over the past nine months, 27% of UK workers have had their pay cut, 24% have had their hours reduced and 24% have lost benefits.”

The survey showed that 37% had experienced one of these changes.

In addition, there are a growing number of workers who have lost their jobs altogether. The suggestion is that we could see over 3 million unemployed by the end of the year.

Is it any wonder then that there is such public fury over the MPs expenses scandal?

And the current shock comes against the backdrop of a longer term growth of inequality in income.

Since 1997, the top 10% of the income distribution have experienced faster growth in disposable income than the rest of the population.

The top 1% experienced still faster growth.
And the top 0.1% experienced the fastest growth of all.

This is a result of a policy of being “intensely relaxed” about the wealthy becoming wealthier.

Where the Government changes course, then it is becoming more popular. The new top rate of tax is a step towards a more progressive tax system.

Ignore the squeals of the greedy – this is seen by the majority as fairer.

There are obvious problems which the Government is just tinkering with.

The Local Government Association says that 5 million people will be on the Council House waiting list by 2010.

The building industry is collapsing. Houses are not being built. There is an obvious case for Government intervention here. The Government must consider nationalising sections of the building industry.

Councils have got to be given the green light, and finances, to build again.
Unless such moves are made, we will face both a shortage of housing and a renewed bubble in house prices.

The Tories will create a racket about any further spending commitments from Government.

But the Tories also know how unpopular public spending cuts will be.

Look at Cameron’s embarrassment about Andrew Lansley’s gaff over the 10% reduction in education and health budgets.

And the Government can show some balance by cutting areas of real waste.

The most obvious of these is the £75 billion due to be spent on buying and servicing the Trident replacement system.

This is a system dependent on US Armed Forces logistics. Nor can we sensibly envisage using such a terrible weapon of mass destruction.

Further down the spending ladder, the Government could save £5.6 billion by scraping its proposals for ID Cards.

Of course, the Government would do everyone a favour by dropping the proposal to privatise Royal Mail.

In its Election Manifesto 2005, the Government promised the British people that it would not privatise Royal Mail.

Last year, Paul and I, along with the other leaders of the unions affiliated to the Labour Party, negotiated a new Warwick Agreement with the Government.

In that Agreement the Government committed to maintain Royal Mail as ‘Wholly publicly owned and integrated’. This was an important concession which was endorsed by the Labour Party Conference in October last year.

The CWU could not have won that commitment without the support of Paul, and the other TULO leaders.

Yet despite that, a Bill has been placed before Parliament aiming to sell up to 49% of Royal Mail.

We have campaigned hard against this. The Cabinet is very badly split, and 149 Labour MPs had signed up to an Early Day
Motion opposing privatisation.

The Prime Minister knows that to get this legislation through, he will have to rely upon Tory support against the policy of the Labour Party Conference.

The issue is on a knife edge. The public opinion polls show around 80% of the electorate is against privatisation. Yet despite its unpopularity, the Government may still go ahead.

As a Union, we have campaigned widely against the proposal. We have used lobbies, demonstrations, street stalls, visits to MPs surgeries, leaflets, petitions, the whole works.

In all of this, we have been well supported by the GMB alongside others in the labour movement.

I appreciate all the efforts the GMB activists have made on this. Some may say this is not a GMB issue. But I know that you are not so inward looking.

Maintaining a modern, efficient, public postal service is in the interests of a vast majority of people in this country.

In addition Paul, knows that this issue is an article of good faith with the Government. If the Government breaks such a clear promise in the Warwick Agreement on Royal Mail, then every commitment which unions have secured from Government is under threat.

So, this is a big struggle for the CWU and the whole Labour movement. With the support of the union like the GMB, then I am confident we can win.

Thank you for your time – and thanks for listening.


]]> 2009-06-17T13:00:19-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1065 It is unusual for Compass to debate around an apparently negative theme such as “No Turning Back.” 1065@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/






It is unusual for Compass to debate around an apparently negative theme such as “No Turning Back.”

These are unusual times. If we first agree to the failure of neo-liberalism, then at least we have an initial platform for progress.

We are in the worst global economic situation since the Second World War.


________________________________________
Public support for the Labour Government initially rose as it became clear that state intervention was necessary because of general market failure.

But instead of using public money to nationalise the banks – huge sums have been used to bail them out.

Had the banks been nationalised, then they could have been directed to ensure investment continued. Instead they have used public money to rebuild their market position without increasing the levels of lending.
________________________________________

We have a huge bill – yet no control over the banks.

Compare this to the problem many workers face in the recession. The Financial Times produced the results of a survey last week for the “Keep Britain Working” campaign. This showed that:

“over the past nine months, 27% of UK workers have had their pay cut, 24% have had their hours reduced and 24% have lost benefits.”
________________________________________
The survey showed that 37% had experienced one of these changes.

In addition, there are a growing number of workers who have lost their jobs altogether. The suggestion is that we could see over 3 million unemployed by the end of the year.

Is it any wonder then that there is such public fury over the MPs expenses scandal?

And the current shock comes against the backdrop of a longer term growth of inequality in income.
________________________________________

Since 1997, the top 10% of the income distribution have experienced faster growth in disposable income than the rest of the population.

The top 1% experienced still faster growth.
And the top 0.1% experienced the fastest growth of all.

This is a result of a policy of being “intensely relaxed” about the wealthy becoming wealthier.

________________________________________
Where the Government changes course, then it is becoming more popular. The new top rate of tax is a step towards a more progressive tax system.

Ignore the squeals of the greedy – this is seen by the majority as fairer.

There are obvious problems which the Government is just tinkering with.

The Local Government Association says that 5 million people will be on the Council House waiting list by 2010.
________________________________________

The building industry is collapsing. Houses are not being built. There is an obvious case for Government intervention here. The Government must consider nationalising sections of the building industry.

Councils have got to be given the green light, and finances, to build again.

Unless such moves are made, we will face both a shortage of housing and a renewed bubble in house prices.

________________________________________
The Tories will create a racket about any further spending commitments from Government.

But the Tories also know how unpopular public spending cuts will be.

Look at Cameron’s embarrassment about Andrew Lansley’s gaff over the 10% reduction in education and health budgets.

And the Government can show some balance by cutting areas of real waste.

________________________________________
The most obvious of these is the £75 billion due to be spent on buying and servicing the Trident replacement system.

This is a system dependent on US Armed Forces logistics. Nor can we sensibly envisage using such a terrible weapon of mass destruction.

On a lower scale, we need to withdraw from attempts to win the unwinnable war in Afghanistan.


________________________________________
This war has gone on for longer now than the Second World War. The cost for the UK is rising too from £738 million in 2006-07 to £2.3 billion in 2008-09.

All the attempts to make this war popular, cannot avoid the fact that Afghan’s biggest product remains opium. Nor can we hide the fact that endless warfare is preventing any positive social development in Afghanistan.

The main point has to be a shift in priorities and resources in order to revive the economy.

________________________________________

This is the most fundamental issue facing the county, and for the voting intentions of the electorate.

I think it is vital that the Government concentrates strongly on the economy, in helping those suffering in the recession.

Before finishing, I just want to say a few words about the Euro election results.

It is evident that Labour voters abstained as much as voted for other parties.
________________________________________

There is some comfort here. Effective action on the economy can create a revival even if time is short.

But we must all take seriously the election of BNP MEPs.

Before the election, the analysis of Unite Against Fascism, was that the BNP would win seats if they held their 2004 vote with the turnout reverting to 1999 levels. That is broadly what happened.

________________________________________

At the heart of BNP support is not a protest but racism. It may be uncomfortable to accept that there is support for this, but we will not defeat the BNP by ignoring this.

Now more than ever we must celebrate and defend the diversity of our society.

We are a multi-cultural society. Britain has never been summed up in a single culture.

Otherwise, we would all be speaking Welsh.
________________________________________

So any movement to build must unswervingly stand up to racists.

Thank you for listening.


]]> 2009-06-13T15:25:33-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1066 In the few minutes available to me, I want to explain the Union’s campaign against the privatisation of Royal Mail. 1066@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/


The Government proposes to sell off up to 50% of Royal Mail. At the moment the second reading of the Bill in Parliament has not been timetabled. The rationale behind the privatisation is that only the private sector can supply the expertise, and the capital to transform the industry.

Now, Royal Mail has suffered from under-investment by successive Governments.

At the start of the 1990s, successive Governments have hoped to privatise the industry. As a consequence, money was taken out rather than reinvested. The Labour Government has supported greater investment, particularly since 2004, but the industry has not received the most up to date machinery.

Government supported full liberalisation of the sector, well in advance of other EU countries. This has not been successful.

Royal Mail have lost high earnings bulk mailings. But Royal Mail continues to deliver 99.8% of previously reserved mail.

So competition has been unbalanced with Royal Mail’s network actually subsidising the competitors.

Now, the proposal is to hand over Royal Mail to one of its competitors. The partner would be able to appoint the Chief Executive Officer, and in practice run the day to day operations of Royal Mail.

The Government is however losing the argument here. The annual accounts for 2008/09 saw Royal Mail double its profits. Meanwhile the main rivals fared badly – TNT saw its profits drop by 58% - Deutsche Post lost nearly 2 billion Euros on the year.

The Union has campaigned for Royal Mail to be modernised in the public sector.

We supported the pamphlet that Compass has published “Modernisation by Consent.” This shows that there are other models in the public sector, such as the BBC, Network Rail, and Welsh Water.

None of these models would be a perfect fit for Royal Mail. But the idea is that Royal Mail profits should be reinvested in new services, new machinery and rewarding the workforce.

Government structure could be remodelled taking into account the communities represented, mail users, and the workforce.

However, before this we have a serious battle to win.

There is a major split in both the PLP and the Cabinet on this policy. To date 149 Labour MPs have signed EDM 428 which proposes to modernise Royal Mail in the public sector.

The Government’s proposals have been rejected by the cross party House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee. All public opinion polls show huge majorities against the proposal.

The Union has organised events up and down the country. We have supported a number of Compass rallies on this question.

At the moment we are running a series of weeks of action in every region of the country. The response has been very positive.

We are on a fight which we can win – and with your support we will.


]]> 2009-06-13T13:25:29-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1063 How can we further embed best practice when using learning to get workers organised? Come and hear from Chairs of our Regional Learning Committees and others on how learning strategies are delivering positive results for workers. 1063@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/




Agenda

Chair: Jane Loftus

Speakers: Simon Massen
Lynn Browne
Kevin Phillips
Billy Hayes – will arrive during fringe
Trish Lavelle – panellist “without portfolio”

1. Chair’s opening remarks: personal viewpoint “Being Vice-President and student on recent Leading in Organising course (5 mins)

2. Simon Massen: Powerpoint presentation (brief 5 mins) on early findings

3. Lynn Browne: case study – personal reflection on development of and participating in ‘organising’ courses (inc. Leading in Organising course) (10 mins)

4. Kevin Phillips: Developing the link within regions (LAWD etc.) (10 mins)

5. Billy Hayes: Importance of the “Organising Model” (5 – 10 mins)

6. Q & A’s (15 mins)

7. Chair’s closing remarks (5 mins)



When we look at the question of the link between organising and education we need to consider the state of the international labour movement.

We need to look at what we as unions actually do.

We sometimes need to simplify things so - if organising is the answer, what’s the question?

In a global context – there has been widespread global decline in unions.

Widespread decline in union density in most countries with the most severe decline in union representation in the private sector.

There is growing gap between union densities in public sector vs. the private sector

This begs another question…

What do unions actually do?

And why does this overall decline in unions matter to everyone in society?

I believe it matters because unions are:

• Organisations for winning rights
• We are a vehicle for exercising rights
• Unions are schools for democracy – with the right to participate in decisions that affect you
• We are builders of a community of interest among members, and with the wider community
• We are premier institutions of civil society, promoting democracy in the workplace, economic and social justice and equality

We are increasingly organising a new workforce with different needs and expectations

Even some of our current members have little knowledge of unions, collective bargaining or labour history.

The workforce & public have grown up in an anti-union environment.

So the CWU faces a challenge…

Where a significant number of our members view the union as a “service” or
workplace “insurance” where they think the power of the union is in the hands of a few reps and a tiny minority of long term employees and union activists.

The leadership skill of getting colleagues involved in the union and moving them from just paying their subs each month to being active, engaged members and fellow leaders like yourselves is called ORGANISING!

Organising is building relationships and moving people collectively.

It begins with one-on-one discussions with colleagues and learning about their
concerns…

Organising must be strategic

And the key to all of this, I believe is education and after all -

THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT

Through education and in solidarity!

Thanks for listening.


]]> 2009-06-09T13:49:10-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1058 My speech. Tuesday, 9 June at 13:00 until 14:00 In The Branksome Suite, BIC 1058@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ Tuesday, 9 June at 13:00 until 14:00
In The Branksome Suite, BIC

Welcome to the Agency Fringe meeting which I have great pleasure in opening and introducing the speakers that we have here today which include, Hannah Reed, the Senior Employments Rights Officer from the TUC and Sally Bridge, the National Officer, who has responsibility for agency employees on the Telecom side of the CWU.

As you are aware the CWU has played a major role in bringing to the forefront of the political agenda the plight of agency workers and the unfair treatment that they receive as far as pay and terms and conditions of employment.
_______________________________
The Justice for Agency Workers campaign has been one of the most successful campaigns in the CWU and has been instrumental in contributing to the agreement that was reached last May between the Government, CBI and TUC on how the terms of the Temporary Agency Workers Directive could be implemented in the UK.

This agreement gave a commitment to equal treatment for pay and basic working conditions to agency workers after a period of 12 weeks in a given job and led to the Government proceeding to ratify the Temporary Agency Workers Directive in Brussels at the end of last year.

_______________________________


Since then we have been awaiting for the Government to publish a consultation paper on how the terms of the Governments, CBI and TUC agreement will be implemented.

This consultation document was published some weeks ago which will allow for a 12 week period consultation period; seeking views from interested such as the Trade Unions, Employment Agencies and actually agency workers themselves.

It will be the intention of the CWU to make a submission to this document.

_______________________________

However, contained within the document are a number of key challenges that we will need to overcome and I am sure the speakers will go into detail as to what those challenges are. One of the purposes of today is to give you a flavour of what those issues are and what role the branches and our agency members can play in the consultation exercise.

Whilst we have indeed come a long way in this campaign, it would be easy to become complacent. However, this part of the campaign is absolutely crucial.


_______________________________

If we do not make our views heard as to how we see equal treatment being implemented then it is likely that we will land up with something that could be ineffective, watered down and will not give our agency members the equal treatment terms that we have been fighting for.

There is the saying that the Devil is in the detail and in this case that is absolutely true as the consultation paper itself stretches over 113 pages and is quite complex as far as the definition and scope. We need to unpick this complexity and address the concerns that directly affect our members.
_______________________________

I give you assurance that we will give this 100% in order to complete this job and follow through the terms of our commitment to our members in order that they received the equal treatment they deserve.

Thank You.





]]> 2009-06-09T13:33:00-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1064 Speaking at the fringe meeting. 1064@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/


How can we further embed best practice when using learning to get workers organised? Come and hear from Chairs of our Regional Learning Committees and others on how learning strategies are delivering positive results for workers.


When we look at the question of the link between organising and education we need to consider the state of the international labour movement.

We need to look at what we as unions actually do.

We sometimes need to simplify things so - if organising is the answer, what’s the question?

In a global context – there has been widespread global decline in unions.

Widespread decline in union density in most countries with the most severe decline in union representation in the private sector.

There is growing gap between union densities in public sector vs. the private sector

This begs another question…

What do unions actually do?

And why does this overall decline in unions matter to everyone in society?

I believe it matters because unions are:

• Organisations for winning rights
• We are a vehicle for exercising rights
• Unions are schools for democracy – with the right to participate in decisions that affect you
• We are builders of a community of interest among members, and with the wider community
• We are premier institutions of civil society, promoting democracy in the workplace, economic and social justice and equality

We are increasingly organising a new workforce with different needs and expectations

Even some of our current members have little knowledge of unions, collective bargaining or labour history.

The workforce & public have grown up in an anti-union environment.

So the CWU faces a challenge…

Where a significant number of our members view the union as a “service” or
workplace “insurance” where they think the power of the union is in the hands of a few reps and a tiny minority of long term employees and union activists.

The leadership skill of getting colleagues involved in the union and moving them from just paying their subs each month to being active, engaged members and fellow leaders like yourselves is called ORGANISING!

Organising is building relationships and moving people collectively.

It begins with one-on-one discussions with colleagues and learning about their
concerns…

Organising must be strategic

And the key to all of this, I believe is education and after all -

THE BEST WAY TO PREDICT THE FUTURE IS TO CREATE IT

Through education and in solidarity!

Thanks for listening.


]]> 2009-06-09T12:02:20-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1061 GENERAL CONFERENCE 2009 Monday, 8 June – lunchtime – BIC Tregonwell Hall 1061@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/


Monday, 8 June – lunchtime – BIC Tregonwell Hall

I am delighted to welcome here representatives from three important campaigns that the CWU is affiliated to.

Issues of war and peace are always important. But as the recession bites, it is the poor, oppressed and working people who are feeling the burden.

Today it is especially sickening to see the grotesque amount of resources going to sustain wars and weapons of mass destruction.

Fighting for a progressive foreign policy, and for peace, is also a contribution to ending the recession devastating our world.

Yesterday, in Conference, we restated our view that the foreign occupation of Iraq is blight upon that country.

We rejected the view that the troops had something to offer the people of Iraq.



-2-

Whether it be democratic rights, protection of women, trade union rights, LGBT rights, etc. – all of these policies can only be defended by the Iraqi people themselves.

They need no tuition from the US or British troops on these problems. All they need is the space to rebuild the country that our armies have devastated.

So it is particularly good to welcome Lindsey German from the Stop the War Coalition. Lindsey and I have shared quite a few platforms since 2002

Yesterday, we also passed a very good motion in defence of the Palestinian people.

You have seen a major growth of support for the Palestinian’s in the union movement. The terrible assault upon Gaza earlier this year, has certainly hardened up opinions.

It is not so long ago that pro-Palestinians were in a definite minority. Yesterday, we were clearly an overwhelming majority.


-3-

The motion itself has given us a variety of areas for our work.

We have to take up the calls for:

• An end to the occupation
• An end to British arms sales to Israel
• Suspension of the EU – Israel Trade Agreement.
• Check whether our holdings or pension funds have any links to Israel.
• Support for the Viva Palestine Convoy
• Condemn Histrudat’s support for the invasion of Gaza.

And there were other issues too.

So that is a big agenda.

We are going to encourage Branches to affiliate to the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. We are then fortunate to have with us Sara Colborne from the PSC.



-4-


I was privileged to speak alongside Sara at what were the biggest ever demonstrations in Britain in support of the Palestinians earlier on this year.

Finally, a special welcome to Bruce Kent of CND.
CND have recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Bruce has been one of the most well respected leaders of CND in that time.

Although we have not debated a motion on CND policy this year, I want to reassure Bruce of our continued commitment to CND.

In our opposition to a nuclear replacement for Trident, we are seeing some tiny glimpse of hope from senior party circles.

Nothing to write hope about yet. But the potential expenditure of £75bn of public money to buy and maintain a new system is sobering for any serious politician.








-5-

There seems to be some possibility that President Obama will lead a major rethink of the US missile defence system in Europe. If that happens, then there really will be some pressure on Britain’s purchase of a new nuclear system.

We will see. But in the meantime, we must actively campaign for nuclear disarmament along with our comrades in CND.

I have pleasure in restating the CWU’s commitments to the major campaigns in this fringe meeting.

Thanks for listening.
]]> 2009-06-08T16:47:24-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1057 We are living in a special time – a time that even 12 months ago – few of us could have imagined. 1057@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/
I want to begin by thanking everyone in the hall for attending this conference.



This Parliament of our activists -

This reaffirmation of the CWU

To thank

Every Officer

President and Vice –President and Chairs

The Executives

The staff at CWU Headquarters –

The field Officials

The local activists

The membership of the CWU.

Thank you for staying loyal to the CWU.

We are a voluntary organisation – whatever jibes or smears we get thrown at us.


Every month - 240,000 people say “yes” to the CWU.


Six million other people who are members of other Unions – TUC


This - extraordinary – life affirming if you like.


Optimism over cynicism


Positivity over negativity.


There is much to be negative about
Telecoms Sector


The economic climate has brought difficult times in the Telecoms sector over the last year.



BT has announced a total of 30,000 job cuts which it hopes to implement through voluntary redundancy and natural wastage. Andy and his team are in discussions with the company to protect jobs and avoid compulsion, but this is going to involve tough decisions.


BT staff have also been hit by the recent pensions review, which saw them having to accept unwanted changes to their defined benefit pension scheme to ensure its ongoing survival.


But these issues aren’t unique to BT and we’ve seen job losses and attacks on pay and pensions in many of the companies where we have members – Virgin Media, Steria, Fujitsu and Yell to name just a few.



Last year - strike action against compulsory redundancy in two telecoms companies, Airwave and Fujitsu Birmingham, where the commitment of our officers and activists saw successful outcomes to both disputes.



But our agency members have been less fortunate with thousands in Manpower and Sitel losing their jobs through BT’s cost cutting exercise. –




Agency workers - we will be putting all of our efforts into ensuring that the EU Agency Workers Directive is implemented quickly and effectively. CWU was part of the direct negotiations with Government - Sally and her team.


The CWU has been lobbying the government and Ofcom to encourage investment in superfast broadband networks.


And it’s encouraging to see from the Digital Britain interim report, that the government also sees modern telecoms infrastructure and future services as critical to economic recovery. –

The detail of government plans will become clearer with the outcome of the Digital Britain review later this month which is expected to set out a broad strategy for the future of the communications industry.




Government - Campaign


We have a political class in this country who promised us the end of boom and bust.



To this government - this Prime Minister –



Labour is best when it’s Labour.


Royal Mail Campaign
Nowhere more than Royal Mail
2005 Manifesto
Hooper - NPF - Hooper

Clearly the government must learn - we are best when we are Labour if the Labour Party is to survive as a national party.


EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

Two fascist MEP’s represent Britain.

Their leader insisted that black Britons did not exist – rather they are “racially foreigners”.

Nick Griffin – intelligent, charming, plausible – the Hannibal Lector of British politics

Griffin – now a MEP for the North West, said in the campaign ‘there is no racial motivation in the murder of Anthony Walker’, this despite absolutely clear evidence established by the police to the contrary.

In the coming months and years, it is vital that this union steps up its work against racism in society and the work place.

We must renew our commitment to campaigning against the fascists of the BNP.


Start looking to those what want Labour to win the next election and stop listening to those who do not care if you win


Best when we are Labour


We need to look inward and go outward.

Membership losses

When we created the CWU in 1995 we had just over 260,000 members. Today we have 227,000 members.


What we need to recruit


We have to look towards ourselves

Merger

The organisation itself

Since the CWU was established in 1995 there have been many changes in the Labour movement which we as an organisation have not kept up with.

Trade Union’s have declined from 32.4% of employees in 1995 to 27.4% by the end of 2008.

• 1995 32.4%
• 2008 27.4%

We must also face the fact that recognition in the private sector is much more difficult than the public sector.

At the end of 2008, 70% of public sector workers were covered by collective agreements. -

Only 19% of private sector workers were covered by such agreements. Yet our future mostly lies in the private sector.

The decline in union membership has been difference experience for men and women. Male membership has declined by 10% - and women’s membership has declined by only 0.5%.

In this process – and since 2005 – women have become the majority of trade unionists in Britain.

Yet as unions we still do not appear to be organisations which promote women.

It is easier to forget how recent is the growth of women’s employment.

1971 37% of members
2009 24% of members

Today the majority of women are in paid employment. Women represent a majority of the population, women make up the majority of trade union members.

Yet at every level of our organisation women are under represented. Really, as an organisation, we are just not changing fast enough to meet the demands of women’s changing position in society.



Today women make up 20% of the CWU’s membership. Yet we are a long way from one in five of our representatives being women.


Since 1995 the work force has grown from nearly 26 million to nearly 29 and a half million workers by the end of 2008.


Yet the number of number of trade union members has declined in this period by 300 thousand, so while the work force has grown by 3 and a half million we have lost 300 thousand members. –
That is a serious problem.

There is a debate within the TUC

Servicing and Organising - TUC debate


It is between managing and leading

We need to leading change.

How do we encourage a new layer of activists?

A next generation activist

The challenge for us is building union organisation amongst workers who have never been organised.

This is particularly important amongst younger workers. The percentage of the work force below the age of 35 has declined since 1995 from 41.8% to 35.6%.

1995 41.8%
2009 35.6%

Too often we older activists fail to promote and encourage young workers – regarding them as a threat to our contribution to the union.

For our part, the CWU has 26,000 members under the age of 30. That’s 12% of our membership.

Ask yourself what encouraged you to become an activist?

What is your narrative?

What made you what you are.

I was at a Gold Badge event last night for Barrie Bletchley. Barrie has served the Union for 42 years. I asked him why so long - he said because he enjoyed it.


After the event I was on the sea front and a man came up to me and said “You’re Mr Hayes?” I said “Yes”. - He told me his name was Guy from the North Midlands Branch and he has been a rep for a few years. I asked him who had encouraged him to become an activist and he said Jan Zblocki.

So we need to reflect on how we develop a new generation of activists -

We cannot run the Union by paid officials alone. – Bigger train set.

We need a layer of lay activists.

We need to tap into what keeps you active.


I am absolutely convinced that this is what keeps you going -


It is not about understanding collective agreements better - although we have to understand collective agreements -



It is about the motivation of our representatives to make a difference and – dare I say it – change the world.

Conference - Change it.
]]> 2009-06-08T15:49:06-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1062 GENERAL CONFERENCE 2009 Sunday, 7 June - lunchtime – BIC Solent Hall. 1062@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/



Sunday, 7 June - lunchtime – BIC Solent Hall.




I want to welcome to this fringe meeting for Unite Against Fascism.

The National Union is a strong supporter of the campaign. I am the Honorary Treasurer of the Campaign. And the majority of Branches are affiliated to the Campaign.

But these are difficult times. The BNP has secured its first county councils in the local elections this week. More significantly, there is every prospect that the BNP will secure representation in Europe when the results are announced later today.

This will be taken as a tremendous setback by the progressive and labour movement.

It will also be damaging for the reputation of Britain and the world.



-2-

However, if the BNP makes such a break through, it is vital that we do not become demoralised.

On the contrary. We must renew our commitment to anti-fascist activity because clearly the problem is growing.

The current economic and political conditions are very favourable for the fascists.

The world recession is under-mining living standards and pitting poor people against each other.

The traditions of socialism and the labour movement have been seriously weakened by the adoption of neo-liberalism by the Labour Party.

The occupation and wars is Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine has been used by mainstream politicians to demonise the Muslim community, and to promote racism against Muslims.

The scandals over parliamentary expenses have created a terrible cynicism which suggests that all politicians are corrupt, and basically the same.


-3-

Unemployment has reached 2.2 million, and is likely to pass 3 million before declining again.

So in these difficult times it is vital that we rediscover the importance of anti-fascist work. For it is in such times that the fascists bigotry sinks deep roots.

In the election campaign, and in recent months, we have seen how easily some of the media accommodate to the growth of the BNP.

This is not surprising. After all the BNP goes with the grain of many long standing prejudices in our society.

They pretend to represent broad opinion. But they simply regurgitate prejudices which have been used by the establishment to justify British domination and exploitation in past and recent times.

The BNP’s racism is just the modern face of the promotion of slavery and the colonisation of places like Africa, India and the Caribbean.



-4-

Our task has to be to support and promote the multi-cultural nature of our society. There has never been a single culture in our society.

The attacks by the BNP, and others, on multi-culturalism is an attack upon definite sections of our society.

Nick Griffin recently said that Black Britons were “racially alien, and did not really exist”. Such a policy is a recipe for terrible civil war against Black communities in Britain.

There must be no retreat from anti-fascism. We must organise for the broadest movement.

UAF have done great work since its foundation. We must continue to support it and widely build it.

Thank you all for listening.
]]> 2009-06-07T16:47:00-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1060 Sunday, 7 June – 1800 hrs – BIC The Branksome Suite. 1060@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/
The Executive welcomes the fringe meeting because all contributions to this debate are to be embraced and I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak for a short time this evening.

We see this meeting as a fresh starting point for the debate and we will - though the mechanisms we have a Headquarters – reinvigorate the issues in this coming union year.

This debate though - needs to take place at every level in the union.– particularly at Branch level.

Because this is where we are likely to capture the attentions of women – early in their trade union careers.


-2-


In terms of national representation:-

There are currently -

7 women NEC members
7 women national officers

At Regional level, we have – sadly - NO women CWU Regional Secretaries.

We have an improving number of women activists locally - but the progression to other levels is the union is poor.

We need to understand why this is the case…………..And

We need to know from women themselves, what THEY think the barriers are for them as women in trade unionism.

When we as a union introduced Rule 2.5 and 2.6 – everyone agreed that it was important there was a clear instruction to use positive action.

-3-

We have discussed this as an NEC – but the whole issue needs to be re-launched in some way……

And I know that Linda – as the CWU Equalities Officer and Grace, in her officer and UNI roles - will take this debate forward.

But we all have a responsibility to keep the representation of women at the forefront of our minds – including me as General Secretary - the NEC - and of course you as branch activists.

But we also need to have the conversation with Women members out there in Branches.

I would like to see us arrange a serious of “open meetings” – “focus groups” if you like – So that we can get an honest view of how they perceive the CWU - and what they think prevents them from getting more involved in the Trade Union Movement.

There are arguments that we should “legislate” Reserving positions - on branch committees, the NEC - and indeed delegations to cwu conference – etc.
-4-

We do abide by quotas to almost every conference we send a delegation to….. without an eyebrow being raised!! So why not CWU Conference!

I think we are out of step…..And we do need to change.

This is not about window dressing – this is about changing the landscape of the Union.

Women are so much better than men at “almost” everything!!

Well that’s what my wife Diane, and daughter, Melissa tell me…….and they are right!!

We need more women involved in the CWU …………

We can do it - Welcome to the debate!!


]]> 2009-06-07T16:44:29-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1059 The CWU have always been international in outlook 1059@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/

Our predecessor unions were among the founding members of PTTI

We have consistently supported the Global Union Federation that we affiliate to

In addition we provide development support on a bi-lateral basis to specific projects around the globe

The most recent examples are:


_____________________________________

• provision of accommodation for our counterpart in Zimbabwe


• training assistance in the Philippines


• support projects in Colombia


In the past we have supported the post apartheid unions in South Africa, hosted exchange activities with Asian and African countries under the auspices of the Tom Jackson Scholarship and numerous other specific one off projects

______________________________________

To date our bi-lateral support has been funded on a purely ad hoc basis with CWU Headquarters, Branches, individuals and occasionally suppliers of services donating money

The carriage of a proposition at Conference 2008 established the International Development Fund which brings the CWU in to line with the majority of major unions

From now we aim to raise funds for the general purposes of development of unions and organising of workers internationally not on a case by case basis but by the maintenance of a permanent fund

______________________________________

The NEC has authorised seed funding of £5000 and further monies will come from Branches, individual members, suppliers and various fund raising initiatives

The existence of the fund will enable the union to react better to requests for assistance and give us the ability to initiate activity far more easily than in the past

]]> 2009-06-07T16:03:29-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1055 BIRMINGHAM SATURDAY 30TH MAY 1055@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ SATURDAY 30TH MAY

First of all, I must compliment the CWU Midlands Region, and the Birmingham and District Amal Branch of the CWU in organising this excellent demonstration today. It is such work that makes our campaign so effective.

The support of the GMB, PCS and UNITE, shows that Trade Union solidarity is alive and well.


Our Trade Union comrades know how important this struggle is to the whole of the Trade Union Movement.

The Government made a manifesto commitment not to privatise Royal Mail. We must hold them to a promise they made to the British public. –

The Unions affiliated to the TUC, and those affiliated to the Labour Party in TULO, are great allies in this struggle.

We also must whole-heartedly thank the National Pensions Convention for their support.

The NPC always shows great energy in defence of postal services. –

As well as working with us against privatisation, the NPC are also a coalition partner in the campaign to establish a Post Bank. Our thanks to Ron Doorman and his comrades.

Now, at the moment, the campaign is on a knife edge.

There is a strong opposition inside and outside of Parliament. There is a huge political split inside the Parliamentary Labour Party – with 149 MPs supporting Early Day Motion 428. This split runs into the Cabinet. And all the opinion polls show big majorities against the privatisation of Royal Mail.

Yet the Government shows every sign of going ahead with this policy.

The Postal Services Bill goes back for its second reading in the Commons, sometime after 8th June.


This is despite the fact that the Government has lost every argument.


They said there was no alternative. The CWU produced an alternative – which they refused to seriously examine.


The all party House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee unanimously agreed that the Government have not made the case for privatisation. The Government denied this.

The campaigning organisation Compass produced a report saying that the economic analysis the Government was using did not justify privatisation. –

This was dismissed.

Compass produced a report showing that Royal Mail could be modernised in the public sector. The Government rejected it out of hand.

Now in the face of growing evidence against privatisation the Government really ought to be reconsidering its position. Yet there are no signs yet that the Government will.

Our only hope is to keep fighting and organising against the sell off.

Recently, Royal Mail published its annual accounts. These show that its profits have doubled in the last 12 months. While private industries and banks are collapsing – Royal Mail doubles its profits. How does it make sense then to privatise it?

Royal Mail doubles it profits. TNT is the company the Government wants to see buy Royal Mail. Yet TNT saw its profits drop by 58% in the same year.

Royal Mail survives the recession better than TNT, yet it should be sold to TNT. How does that make sense?

Of course, this is about serving private business interests, not the public interest.

TNT delivers 100 gram letters at nearly three times the price of Royal Mail. TNT delivers 50 gram letters at twice the price of Royal Mail.

How does this make sense for the customer?

The Government has lost the argument yet it may still go ahead. The Government is in a difficult position. –

At the moment a Labour rebellion will be big enough to ensure that the Government can only get the measure through with Conservative votes.

That would be a blow to the whole Labour movement.

And can the Government trust Cameron? Cameron has said that if the Government makes any concessions to the rebels the Tories will vote against the Bill.


The Government face a terrible political blow at the hands of Cameron if it continues with this discredited and unpopular policy.

As I said – the campaign is on a knife edge. It all depends upon the work of people like you.

The CWU, and the Unions affiliated to the Labour Party, are calling for MPs to vote against the Bill on the second reading if the Government doesn’t remove the privatisation provisions.

You can help to strengthen the fight by ensuring that your MP understands that you want them to vote against the privatisation of Royal Mail.

We can be successful – but there is not much time. –

What you do makes a difference. Your activity matters. Together we can win.

Thank you for coming – and thank you for listening.
]]> 2009-05-30T13:01:00-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1056 This is about to appear as my column in the Voice. 1056@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/

21st Century Britain is not what we were told to expect.

The end of history and no return to boom and bust, we were promised.

Yet now we face the prospect of the return of mass unemployment on a scale unprecedented since the 1930s.

Government were derided for daring to intervene in the world of business, but are now – morning, noon and night, intervening to save this or that industry after the captains of industry pleaded for help.

How did we get here?

“The Credit Crunch”, a book by Graham Turner, takes the reader through the development of The Housing bubble, deliberately created to mask the damage created by companies shifting production abroad in attempts to boost profits.

The implosion of the credit bubbles has shaken the unbridled free market to its foundation, with Governments collapsing in some places, with the political fallout still to be registered in countries across the developed world.

There is much talk in the media about the greed of this and that individual. Greed stupidity and arrogance has certainly played a part in the current circumstances.

However, it has been unbridled free trade that has largely been responsible for the mess we are now living in.

Turner, after devoting a great deal of analysis as to why and how the crisis was created, argues that in order to tame the market, yes, with fiscal stimulus and better regulation, we need workers with more power. He recognises that it is the decline in trade union power that has, in part, allowed transnational companies to threaten and bully workers and governments that cut wages or we move South or East. How prescient those arguments are that it has been the decline in trade union power in the West, and in particular the developing world that has allowed the state we are now in to develop.

This has been one of the reasons why our union continues to champion a new settlement for workers rights in this country. Why we continue to actively campaign for trade union rights around the globe.

An ounce of activity is worth a pound of theory, but without an analysis. Our activity is shouting in the dark.

Turner’s book shines a light and helps us to recognise that without a revitalised and organised trade union movement, the problems of the modern world will still look very old fashioned.


NB Graham Turner “The Credit Crunch” – Housing Bubbles, Globalisation and the Worldwide Economic Crisis - www.plutobooks.com


Quote:
:
I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.

Ralph Nader
Political Activists USA

]]> 2009-05-29T15:14:06-00:00 http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/rssfeed.php?id=P1053 MILLENNIUM CENTRE, WEST DERBY VILLAGE, LIVERPOOL FRIDAY 22 MAY 2009 @ 7.00 PM 1053@http://www.billyhayes.co.uk/ LIVERPOOL
FRIDAY 22 MAY 2009 @ 7.00 PM

We are at a critical stage in the campaign against the privatisation of Royal Mail.

The Government’s Postal Services Bill has just completed its third reading in the House of Lords. It is due to have its first reading in the House of Commons on the 9th June. And the important second reading will be held two weeks after that.

Despite having made considerable progress in Parliamentary terms, the Government has made no progress in convincing the public of the value of privatisation.

The most recent poll published this week indicated that 78% of those questioned believe Royal Mail should be kept in the public sector with less than 20% supporting partial or full privatisation.

The same poll indicated that 80% believe that Labour will be breaking its Election promise if it sells part of Royal Mail.

Nor has the Government had much more success in actually winning the argument amongst MPs.

The All Party House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee examined the Postal Services Bill and said:

‘We agree with two aspects of the proposals. First that the Government should take responsibility for the historic pension’s deficit. Most of its liabilities stem from Royal Mail’s time as a monopoly provider.

It needs to be free for them as many of its European counterparts have already been freed. Moreover pension fund members deserve to know that their pensions are secure.

Second, we also agree that a new regulatory framework in which postal services are viewed as part of a wider communications market is entirely appropriate.

However we do not consider that either the Independent Review or the Government has properly made the case that these two reforms, about which there is a broad consensus, can only be made as part of a package which includes the third reform – the involvement of a private sector equity partner in Royal Mail. Similarly, we are not persuaded that the provisions contained in the Bill allow such a partnership is necessary or desirable.’

In the words of the chair of that committee, Peter Luff, Conservative MP, “the committee does not think that the Government has yet made its case”.

Certainly we know there are substantial divisions inside the Cabinet and inside the PLP.

Not least these are registered by the support of 148 Labour MPs for Early Day Motion 428 which proposes to keep Royal Mail entirely within the public sector.

However, the Government has the power to carry through the Bill and as yet it appears that is what the Government intends to do.

The essential argument of the Government appears to be that Royal Mail is a financial basket case, and that only the discipline of the private sector can ensure its recovery.

This argument does not really bear examination.

Firstly, the huge problem of the pension’s deficit is a direct result of a pension’s holiday carried out by both previous Conservative and the current Labour Government for a thirteen year period.

Of course during this time postal workers continued to pay into the pension fund. It was merely the employer who had the holiday.

There is unanimity amongst all the parties that the Government must solve this problem. There is also the certainty that no private company would dream of buying Royal Mail if it didn’t solve this problem.

A private sector company would expect Royal Mail’s debt to be nationalised so that it could privatise Royal Mail’s profits.

But once the Government removes this deficit this immediately releases an anticipated £280m additional capital for Royal Mail per year every year for the next fourteen years.

This alone transforms the financial position of Royal Mail. Not that the position is as serious as has been suggested.

The release of the latest Royal Mail business results for the year last week was an acute embarrassment for the Government.

These show that Royal Mail had doubled its profits during the past twelve months.

During the same period the privatised European postal companies which are supposedly greatly superior to Royal Mail had a bad year.

For example TNT saw its profits drop by 57%.

Whilst Deutsche Post registered an annual loss of just under two billion Euros.

The truth is that Royal Mail is fairing the recession much better than its private competitors.

Royal Mail has suffered decades of underinvestment – in new machinery, in new services and in rewarding its staff.

This does need to be corrected, but we believe this can be done perfectly successful in the public sector.

Interestingly enough, even acknowledging the disadvantage that Royal Mail has had in investment terms in comparison to its competitors – Royal Mail still provides a considerably cheaper service.

TNT delivers a 100 gram first class letters at nearly three times the price of Royal Mail. TNT delivers 50 gram letters at twice the price of Royal Mail.

Deutsche Post delivers 100 gram first class letters at more than three times the price of Royal Mail. Deutsche Post delivers 50 gram letters at more than twice the price of Royal Mail.

So we believe there is that no argument from the point of view of general economic efficiency or customer value that supports privatisation.

Compass has recently published a pamphlet called Modernisation by Consent, which outlines real opportunities to modernise Royal Mail in the public sector.

It shows that Royal Mail could effectively become some form of public trust or not-for-profit company which would be self-financing and offering all the benefits of modernisation.

Compass looks at models such as the BBC, Welsh Water and Network Rail. Our view is that none of these is an exactly perfect model for Royal Mail but indicates the type of direction that a reform of Royal Mail in the public sector would take.

Our campaign is biting and the Government now faces a stark choice.

It could carry the Bill through Parliament – but this would be with the support of Conservative MPs against a large number of its own back-bench MPs, which would be highly demoralising for the Party.

The Tories have a general commitment to supporting the Bill – but Cameron recently stated that the Tories would not support the Bill if it was watered down.

I take this to mean that the Tories could find some tactical excuse to bring about Brown’s defeat in an attempt to bring about a crisis of confidence in the Government.

This would clearly be a disaster for the Prime Minister and for the whole Labour movement.

In our opinion this is not necessary. The Government needs to make a move on the issue of ownership. This can be done within the framework of the existing Bill – as has been demonstrated by Lord Tony Clarke who put such amendments before the Bill in the House of Lords.

If the Government has the will to acknowledge both public concern and the needs of the industry it will make such a move.

What is crucial in the next few weeks, is that all the organisations of the Labour movement make it clear to Government that it must not attempt to privatise Royal Mail.

The Government gave a very clear commitment in its Election Manifesto not to private Royal Mail. That commitment was strengthened and reinforced at the Warwick National Policy Forum last year – a position which was endorsed at the Labour Party Conference last year. That conference agreed the principle of a wholly publicly owned and integrated Royal Mail.

The Postal Services Bill as it stands – is in direct contradiction to the policies of the Labour movement and the commitments entered into by the Government.

Anything your CLP can do to help – and anything you as individual activists can do in your relevant unions or community organisations is of great value to us now.

At the moment there is all the play for – keep up the fight – together we will be successful.

Thanks for listening.

]]> 2009-05-22T19:11:12-00:00