asked to vote for cwu postal executives!!!

[BELIAL]

The elections are open to all, a different nomination process might be in order though.

Any chance you could detail the existing nomination process ? just in the interest of membership inclusion and to promote understanding and a greater sense of participation. It might prompt some interest and foster a healthy debate

[MinisterofCucumber]

The elections are open to all, a different nomination process might be in order though.

I agree. If the incumbents are allowed to remain, the CWU will wither away. Fresh blood could save the union.

[Martin Walsh]

The elections are open to all, a different nomination process might be in order though.

Any chance you could detail the existing nomination process ? just in the interest of membership inclusion and to promote understanding and a greater sense of participation. It might prompt some interest and foster a healthy debate

It is fairly straight forward

1. You have to be a cwu member

2. You have to be nominated and supported by your Branch at a proper constituted meeting ie an Annual General Meeting.

Thats all. However the reality is that the way candidates get elected is by the support of Branch`s nominating them. In the main Branch`s nominate candidates by their knowledge of them. So for example current PEC members are attached to a region or division and should attend Divisional meetings and assist in other meetings, Branch`s then get to see how they perform and nominate them from this knowledge.

Equally for example if you are known from Conference for moving various policies then this also helps. Plus Branch`s sometimes trade support ie you vote for our candidate and we will vote for yours.

Equally candidates who are unknown to either their Branch, Division or the wider union rarely have a chance for example the indivdual from Bristol . I know a lot of talented reps from Bristol and I have been involved in the union for over 20 years but I dont know this indivdual and dont know what he stands for and neither does anyone I know. Therefore a new candidate who no one knows stands a far harder task being elected. Most in the union believe that indivduals have to do an apprenticeship. It is easy to write down in an election address what you want to do but you are part of a collective body and only have one vote out of 17 on the PEC. People like to understand whether people walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

[MinisterofCucumber]

By the time the new blood has served their apprenticeships, there won't be a union left. Urgent change is needed now. Maybe members will go for the Bristol candidate because they feel they have nothing to lose by taking a risk. The trouble is, that on his own, he can't change anything. We should have been given the opportunity to elect a completely fresh PEC.

I think that 17 members picked at random would do a better job than the current PEC.

[BELIAL]

Cheers Dingo, seems simple.
How would you improve on that nomination process BigD?

Hiscox looks like a breath of fresh air to me ,I like the talk he talks . Time will tell if he can walk properly, but we already know that a lot of the existing PEC talk in tongues and spend more time ducking and diving than walking the straight line

[Big Daz]

Simple, change nominations to be had from the membership, get a certain amount and perhaps from two different work locations.

[Martin Walsh]

Simple, change nominations to be had from the membership, get a certain amount and perhaps from two different work locations.

I dont think that is a goer to be honest because at the end of the day the members in the main go by the Branch nominations.

If you open it up to the nominations from the membership , how do we know who the candidates are and what do they stand for ? Anyone can write 300 words in an election address but I want to know what have they done in their own office and what have they done in their own Branch to move those policies forward.

Now minster how do you pick 17 PEC members in a random manner. The PECs role includes all the following , negotating with the employer on all issues including Royal Mail letters , Jersey Pay , Gurnsey pay, London weighting , Quadrant , Romec , POL , CIT , Parcel force and LAs, resolving disputes , sitting on the national appeals panel and reprsenting members on the national appeals panel , attending branch agms , involvement on everything from uniform to delivery aids ,repesenting reps at appendix 4 , plus sitting on various committees at headquaters ie finance , membership organisations , equal opps etc. Plus to consider and made decisions on behalf of the membership and Branch`s between conferences.

Someone who has no experience in any of that would get found out very quickly as Branch`s who are not happy with the repsentation they get soon make their views known.

In my honest opinion you could not jump from either a lay member or a unit rep straight to the PEC role as the things you are dealing with you are fronting up to very senior managers who take no prisoners and unless you know your onions you will come up short. Not your fault but you do need to understand the issues.

There can be changes to the PEC but lets be honest , the out of the Branch`s who opposed the agreement only Bristol have put someone forward as an alternative and no dis respect to the Bristol Candidate he is not the lead player in that Branch.

[BELIAL]

Simple, change nominations to be had from the membership, get a certain amount and perhaps from two different work locations.

That sounds fair ,might open things up a bit and slacken the stranglehold of the same old faces in their cosy little club.
Pretty much academic now though looks like Cwu postal will be gone in 3years ,guess there will be the sham staff association instead. I think 40,000 will take CWU below the threshold where RM legally have to recognise it as the union of the workplace

[Geordie]

The PEC elections will always be a sham when Branches and Divisions only recommend candidates from their own geographical area.

This does not elect those best equipped for the job, it does the opposite, and elects candidates from those areas whether capable or not.

[Pinky 1]

Well if dingo's info is correct, it means Katrina Quirke voted for the agreement while her branch, South East Wales Amalgamated, are recommending a NO vote .......kinda leaves her out of touch don't it ?

Well at least South East Wales Amalgamated did the right thing and voted no .....scant consolation though

[MinisterofCucumber]

Dingo,

I am not disputing that being a PEC member is a challenging job. Of course, experience makes anyone better at what they do but how quickly someone picks something up is mostly down to the quality of the equipment they were born with.

Assuming that our current PEC are capable and experienced, there must be a reason why they are selling us out. I think that the problem is that a lot of branches and the PEC members they put forward are loyal to the Labour Party instead of their members.

I don't support Labour because I am from an immigrant background and feel that Labour only helps mainly thick white people to get cushy public sector jobs. Like a lot of immigrants, I put a higher value on education than most of our white working class counterparts. I understand that a lot of white Brits don't rate education because they believe 'it's not what you know, it's who you know'. I support the grammar school system because the entrance exam means that immigrants get a fairer chance to compete for a place at a good school. Labour are against grammar schools.

My branch is dominated by the Labour Party. We have two Labour councillors. There is no chance that my branch would support me if I wanted to advance through the union structure. How many branches are dominated by the Labour Party? How many PEC members are also members of the Labour Party?

I can't see why any postal workers would support the Labour Party. If there was a left wing party that believed in a merit based system and wanted to bring back free Higher education, I would vote for them. Like a lot of my workmates, we have moved out to an area that has grammar schools so that our kid has a chance to compete for a good education. Ideally, all schools should provide good education but they don't. In Wales, they don't have grammar schools and the best comprehensives are the Welsh speaking ones. This system doesn't benefit immigrants who would have to bring their kids up tri-lingual. Until the British develop a general love of education, the grammar school system is good for immigrants and it would be stupid to support a party that wants to get rid of it.

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/soci ... 001222401/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[The truth!]

Minster you cant compare your Branch who I know have Labour die hards with the PEC.

I personally know all the PEC and believe me there are only a couple who are labour diehards.

In fact most ensured the unions policy of emergency motion E6 was carried out and not funding Labour at this election.

Some of your assumptions are so far off the mark its scary.

Yes we know Billy is a Labour die hard. But most of the PEC are on no politcal party. The problem we all face who are on the left is what other choice have we got ????????????????

[BELIAL]

Was Dave Ward A member of the Labour party NEC until quite recently?

[Big Daz]

Was Dave Ward A member of the Labour party NEC until quite recently?

He was a Labour NEC mbr, drawn from the TU section

My memory tells me 2008 or even 2007 he stepped down and it must be noted that Dave is increasingly becoming anti Labour due to the pension issue.

[Big Daz]

http://www2.labour.org.uk/National_Executive_Committee" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Labour's National Executive Committee

The work of the NEC

The National Executive Committee is the governing body of the Labour Party that oversees the overall direction of the party and the policy-making process. It carries out this role by setting strategic objectives on an annual basis and meeting regularly to review the work of the party in these areas.

All members of the NEC are members of the National Policy Forum. This body oversees the development of party policy through a rolling programme of policy development. Throughout the year, NEC members participate with government ministers in Labour Party policy commissions that prepare reports on different areas of policy which are then presented to and consulted on with the party membership before going to annual conference.

This forms the basis of Labour’s general election manifesto. The NEC is also responsible for upholding the rules of the party and propriety of Labour selection processes.

Who’s on the NEC?

The NEC is structured so as to represent all key stakeholders in the party. As at October 2009 its membership is:
Leader Gordon Brown
Deputy Leader Harriet Harman
Treasurer Jack Dromey
Government Pat McFadden
Government Angela Eagle
Government Tom Watson
EPLP Leader Glenis Willmott MEP
Young Labour Stephanie Peacock
Div. I - Trade Unions Keith Birch
Div. I - Trade Unions Jim Kennedy
Div. I - Trade Unions Harriet Yeo
Div. I - Trade Unions Diana Holland
Div. I - Trade Unions Paddy Lillis
Div. I - Trade Unions Norma Stephenson (Vice Chair)
Div. I - Trade Unions Andy Kerr CWU
Div. I - Trade Unions Cath Speight
Div. I - Trade Unions Mary Turner
Div. I - Trade Unions Chris Weldon
Div. I - Trade Unions Andy Worth
Div. II - Socialist Societies Dianne Hayter
Div. II - Socialist Societies Keith Vaz MP

Div. III - CLPs Ann Black (Chair)
Div. III - CLPs Ellie Reeves
Div. III - CLPs Peter Wheeler
Div. III - CLPs Peter Kenyon
Div. III - CLPs Pete Willsman
Div. III - CLPs Christine Shawcroft
Div. IV - Labour Councillors Jeremy Beecham
Div. IV - Labour Councillors Ann Lucas
Div. V - PLP/EPLP Anne Snelgrove MP
Div. V - PLP/EPLP Dennis Skinner
Div. V - PLP/EPLP Michael Cashman MEP