Brendan Barber statement on the Royal Mail dispute

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the Royal Mail have been meeting today (Monday) at the TUC to discuss all the issues involved in the current dispute.

“We have had useful discussions today and the talks are being adjourned to allow further work to be done overnight on some of the issues involved.

“We will be reconvening again in the morning here at Congress House to continue the talks.

“In the meantime neither the CWU nor the Royal Mail will be making any further comment.”

Economy is still extremely fragile, says Midlands TUC

Commenting on growth figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) today (Friday) TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “This is now the longest recession in modern economic history. Even the co-ordinated world-wide stimulus has not been able to halt the damage done by the financial crash.

“Even if we had achieved a technical recovery today, it would not feel like a recovery to the thousands losing their jobs or afraid that they will join the dole queue in the months ahead when unemployment will continue rising. It takes more than a statistical read out and the return of big bank bonuses for a real recovery.


“These worse than expected figures should head off the growing signs of complacency. The economy is still extremely fragile. Any halt in economic stimulus – or even worse, cuts in spending in a premature effort to close the deficit – could easily send us into another downwards spiral.


“Politicians cannot now say that the recession is over so we can go back to treating the unemployed as work-shy scroungers rather than victims of the financial crash. Fighting unemployment – particularly among the young – must be national priority number one.”

TUC General Council statement on Royal Mail

The TUC General Council today (Wednesday) affirmed its full support for the CWU and its members in their current dispute with Royal Mail.

The General Council expressed its strong concern at the Royal Mail’s recent decision to hire 30,000 temporary workers in the run up to Christmas, in an apparent move to undermine the union’s plans to take legitimate industrial action.

The CWU has reiterated its determination to reach a fair settlement. The General Council is calling on Royal Mail to match this commitment, and to continue talks with the CWU, in an effort to reach an agreement on genuine modernisation which will underpin a successful and sustainable future for Royal Mail.

West midlands worst hit as one in three unemployed young people out of work for more than six months

TUC analysis of official Government statistics released today (Tuesday) shows that more than one in three (39 per cent) unemployed young people aged 16-24 have now been out of work for more than six months. The last time so many young people were long-term unemployed was 15 years ago, in October 1994.
There are now 366,000 young people who have been unemployed for more than six months. With the latest jobless figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) out tomorrow (Wednesday), the TUC expects to see yet another sharp increase in youth unemployment.


Young people in the West Midlands have been hardest hit by the recession, with youth unemployment there increasing more than twice as fast as the UK average. The region has the highest youth unemployment rate at 26.7 per cent, followed by the North East (22.2 per cent) and Yorkshire and the Humber (21.2 per cent).


The TUC is warning that a failure to act to stem the flow of rising youth unemployment could leave a generation of young people on the scrap heap, as happened in the 1980s. The Government’s Future Jobs Fund for any young person who has been out of work for at least ten months is a good start, says the TUC. Funds for more than 50,000 jobs have already been awarded, with a large number of places created in areas of the UK currently experiencing high unemployment. Any attempt to cut this scheme or end the economic stimulus package would be a disaster for thousands of unemployed young people, the TUC believes.


However the Future Jobs Fund only has 100,000 places for young people. The TUC is concerned that the scheme will be oversubscribed meaning not all long-term unemployed youngsters will be able to take up a place. The TUC is also concerned there is not enough genuine support in place to help those who have only recently become unemployed, and that young people are at risk of exploitation through unpaid internships and work experience.


Midlands TUC Regional Secretary Cheryl Pidgeon said: “Youth unemployment was a concern for the TUC before the recession started, but over the last year the numbers unable to find work have rocketed. It’s clear that young people are among those bearing the brunt of the recession and rising unemployment. One in five of the UK’s young population is currently out of work, and more than 360,000 young people have already spent more than six months on the dole."


Ms Pidgeon continued, “This is a crisis for our young people. Prolonged periods of joblessness permanently damage careers and without continued Government investment we risk losing this generation, who are vital to our future labour market performance. The Future Jobs Fund is providing new jobs at decent wages for young people, and cutting it would be a disaster. But we also want to see real support for those who have only just lost their jobs. While internships can be a valuable means of providing young people with work experience, great care needs to be taken to ensure that they are not used to exploit young people or as a substitute for real jobs. It is important that interns receive their legal rights and are paid at least the minimum wage.”

CWU vote to take strike action

The Communication Workers Union today (Thursday) can report a yes vote in the national ballot for strike action in Royal Mail. Postal workers voted by 76 per cent in favour in favour of strike action.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “This is a huge vote of no confidence in Royal Mail management. The company has tried to make out that problems only exist in some local offices, but postal workers across the UK have now spoken and they say no to Royal Mail’s arrogance.

“Royal Mail has never really been engaged in modernisation. They’ve been running down the business, running down services and cutting costs and it’s that business plan that postal workers have overwhelmingly rejected today.

“There’s still an opportunity to reach an agreement before any national strike action takes place.

“We need a national agreement which secures a fair deal on modernisation and reward for the efforts of postal workers in transforming the business. We want reassurances on job security, covering both redundancies and full-time part-time ratios.

“Crucial to an agreement is fair workloads with agreed standards of measurement. Constantly disciplining postal workers will not improve efficiencies but will drive an ever bigger wedge between workers and what they are told is modernisation.

“We’ve seen cuts and increased workloads and now we need an agreed roll-out of real modernisation. Aligning the interests of customers, employees and the company as a whole is a pre-requisite for the successful modernisation of Royal Mail.

“The Government must act now to resolve the pensions deficit which is crippling the Royal Mail’s finances and chances to modernise effectively.”

Notes to editors:


• 121,000 postal workers were sent ballot papers from 17th September 2009. The ballot closed on 8th October 2009.

• Postal workers outside of London start on £16,268

• The last national post strike was in 2007.

• Local strikes have been ongoing in places across the UK since the last week of June. Postal workers in London have now taken strike action every week for 15 weeks.

• The turnout was 67 per cent.

New Regional Secretary visits Stagecoach Learning Bus

Cheryl Pidgeon, the recently appointed Midlands TUC Regional Secretary, has visited the new Learning Bus which has been developed in partnership between Unite the Union, the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) and Stagecoach. The bus, based in Chesterfield, will visit up to six depots across the north midlands delivering opportunities for learning to all staff employed by Stagecoach via the wireless computer training facilities.



Cheryl Pidgeon said, “Learning is a passion of mine and I am delighted to see this partnership between Unite, the RMT and Stagecoach come to fruition in such an innovative way. Continuing education is vital for people to reach their full potential – whether they are looking for job progression or to satisfy their craving for knowledge. I look forward to being invited back at future presentation events and wish this project and those who will benefit from it the very best of luck”.

The Learning Bus is supported by a group of Union Learning Representatives who help individuals access the new opportunities to study. “The Learning rep role is central to ensuring the success of the project,” said Ms Pidgeon, “the energy and enthusiasm they bring to their role will help keep their colleagues motivated so they get the best out of their studies.”