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.”

New Regional Secretary for Midlands TUC

Cheryl Pidgeon has been appointed as the new Regional Secretary for the Midlands TUC.

Cheryl joins the TUC from the GMB where she has worked since 1999, most recently as a Senior Organiser and Regional Political Officer where she managed industrial relations, increased GMB membership and improved services for members in the region.


Cheryl set up and managed the GMB Grantham office which won the Midlands TUC Project of the Year for Learning in 2005. Cheryl also ran the Reaching Out to New Communities Project working with the Learning and Skills Council, the TUC and community partners (including the NHS and the police) which won a National Award for Social Inclusion and Grantham New Year’s Honours Award for Service to the Community.


Prior to working for the GMB, Cheryl worked at the then Knitwear and Footwear Workers union (KFAT), Raleigh Industries Ltd and at the Ministry of Defence in Nottingham.


Commenting on her appointment Cheryl Pidgeon said: “I am looking forward to playing a full part in achieving the TUC’s aims of raising the quality of working life, campaigning for greater equality in society and within unions, boosting union organisation, strengthening global solidarity and increasing worker’s prospects through lifelong learning.


“As a senior union official who has lived and worked in the Midlands for almost all my life, I believe I have an in-depth understanding of the economic, social and political challenges facing the region. It’s a fantastic region with fantastic people and cultures.


“I would love to see more women taking up vital leadership roles within the world of work – especially within the union and Labour movements – to reflect the ever increasing number of women who are now joining unions.”

Cheryl lives in Derby with her husband Philip who works for the Department for Work and Pensions. She has a son, three daughters and a four-year-old granddaughter.

Cheryl was a single parent for 15 years and said: “I have a wealth of experience as a mum juggling work and family life, and I fully understand the stresses and strains of a benefits system that can lead to social exclusion and poverty, and make life difficult for single parents and their families.”

20 Foot Post Box tours the east and west midlands

A 20-foot post box and giant postcard will be visiting towns and cities in the East and West Midlands to highlight the government’s plans to sell off part of Royal Mail to a foreign competitor and we are inviting all MPs, MEPs and Councillors to attend together with the local press and media.

Postal workers will be leafleting and petitioning in town and city centres to galvanise the ever-increasing public support, which seeks to convince the PM Gordon Brown to abandon his ill-thought plans to part privatise the successful public service that is the Royal Mail.

This is part of a national tour from John O’Groats to Lands End which began back in May.

Lee Barron, CWU Midlands Regional Secretary is inviting everyone to attend and said, “We believe, as do the huge number of public that has turned out to support us, that such a move will risk fracturing one of Britain's greatest public services and put our universal (one price goes anywhere) service under direct threat.

“Any investor will only be interested in lining the pockets of their shareholders and not delivering a truly universal first-class service to the public. The CWU in the East and West Midlands are in no doubt that, it will also lead to further job losses and severe reduction in postal services within the region. We should be looking for ways to improve the service not wreck it. Royal Mail is one of the most efficient and cheapest postal services in Europe; they have just announced a doubling of their operating profit, while private mail companies, including TNT, have seen huge profit reductions.”

The Schedule

Monday 22nd June – 11.00am Stoke on Trent – Hanley Town Centre Market Square

Tuesday 23rd June – 11.30am Bilston, Church Street (constituency of Pat McFadden MP Minister responsible for the Royal Mail)

Wednesday 24th June – 11.00am Summer Lane in Birmingham and 12.30 Dresden Place in Coventry

Thursday 25th June – 10.30am Abington Street in Northampton and 2.00pm Clock Tower in Leicester

Friday 26th June – 10.30am Old Market Square in Nottingham

Saturday 27th June – 10.45am Spot Centre in Derby

Unemployment to keep rising until the end of next year, says TUC

Although some economists are saying that the end of the recession may be in sight, the TUC is today (Tuesday) warning that unemployment will carry on rising for many months even after the UK economy has begun to pick up.

Using official figures and comparing the current recession to the economic downturn of the early 1990s, the TUC is predicting that the number of people losing their jobs will carry on increasing until at least the autumn of next year.

There has always been a delay between the economy starting to grow and unemployment beginning to fall, as cautious employers make use of capacity among existing staff before recruiting new employees and want to be sure of recovery before expanding their businesses. In the last recession, GDP began to grow in the autumn of 1991, but it was 18 months later before unemployment started to fall.

But this recession is already proving to be much worse than the 1990s recession. The largest quarterly fall in GDP in the 1990s was 1.2 per cent, but the decline between the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 was 1.9 per cent.

The biggest fall over any four consecutive quarters in the 1990s was 2.2 per cent, yet GDP fell by 4.1 per cent between early 2008 and the first quarter of this year.

During the shallower 1990s recession, unemployment rose for 11 consecutive quarters – a period of just under three years. And unemployment rates did not return to their pre-recession levels for seven years. This time around unemployment has only been rising for five consecutive quarters, suggesting we may only be half way through unemployment rising, and some years before it falls to the level before the recession started.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Some now say that we have a recovery, but even if this is not a false dawn, as others fear, it will be years before the thousands of people who have lost their jobs or who will lose them in months to come will see anything to celebrate.
“That’s why tackling unemployment must remain the Government’s number one priority. Speeding up the process of getting people back into work and into jobs with decent pay will not only benefit the two million people currently out of work, but will also give the economy the spending boost it needs.”

The 4th TUC Social Policy Forum

The Welfare Reform Bill is the most controversial social security legislation since 1997, and a possible indication of what the next round of welfare state reforms may look like, whichever Party wins the next general election. Reforms such as tougher benefit rules for parents and disabled people, a new ‘work for your benefits’ scheme and more contracting-out of Jobcentre Plus services have all raised the highest level of trade union concern about benefits policy for several years.

That is why the next TUC Social Policy Forum will be entirely devoted to the Welfare Reform Bill. TUC Social Policy Forums are unique in providing a channel for discussions of policy that also pay full attention to associated workplace and industrial issues, and the speakers therefore include experts from both unions and external organisations. The Forum will take place at Congress House at 10.30 on Friday 3 July. Places are free, and you can register using the attached form or online: visit http://www.tuc.org.uk/events/detail.cfm?event=3107

Unite March for Jobs

Thousands of trade unionists from all over the country decended on Birmingham to march for jobs. During the current recession thousands of manufacturing, retail, finance and construction jobs have been lost. The rally at the end of the march was addressed by a number of senior trade union figures including Brendan Barber, TUC General Secretary and the joint General Secretaries of Unite - Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson.