Postal workers to endorse a Yes vote in the 2014 referendum
Posted by Peter Dempsie on March 04, 2013
Yes Scotland today warmly welcomed the decision by postal workers to endorse a Yes vote in the 2014 referendum.
The Scotland No.2 Branch of the Communication Workers Union – the second largest in the country with more than 4,000 members – overwhelmingly carried the following motion at their annual general meeting in Edinburgh on Sunday:
"This Branch recognises that the referendum on Scottish Independence, due to be held in autumn 2014, will be the biggest political decision any of us has been asked to make in our lives."
"We recognise that under consecutive governments the gap between rich and poor has widened and that the UK remains one of the most unequal societies in the developed nations of the world.
"We further recognise that round after round of anti-trade union legislation, introduced by Tory governments throughout the 80's and 90's remain on the statute book despite 13 years of Labour government ’97-2010.
"To this end we believe that the only way forward for workers in Scotland is to ensure a YES vote in the referendum and we agree to do all in our power to secure such an outcome."
The motion pledges to give 'full support to Yes Scotland and to play an active role within the campaign and to initiate debate on the issue at future branch meetings.
Members will also considerer placing a motion to annual conference calling for support for their position, 'ensuring the continued unity of postal and other workers throughout the UK and the wider world.'
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Director of Communities at Yes Scotland, said: "This is very welcome news and underlines the fact that Westminster isn’t working for Scotland.
"The vast majority of what trade unionists want to help make Scotland a fairer country cannot be delivered under the current constitutional arrangement. As we recently pointed out in our report, Yes to a Just Scotland, independence is the best way to create a fairer, more socially just Scotland."
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CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
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Danelectro
- Posts: 1058
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Re: CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
Not looking like a decision thats of much interest to many on Royal Mail chat.I am glad to see a branch has bothered to even consider the forthcoming referendum and at least had the balls to debate and vote on it.Would have been good to know from anybody in No2 Branch what the turnout was and how much debate beforehand.
I dont believe that any countrys economy is crash proof so the obligatory one side says look at Ireland/Iceland! and the other says what about Norway! is not on my mind at the moment.(by the way Icelands economy grew by 2.8% last year maybe something to do with them jailing bankers and putting banks into liquidation)
Its the political deadlock in the UK with all major parties occupying a centre/centre right position and working people having to turn to right wing parties for the answers that makes me consider breaking away and as in the Branch No2 statement the trade union laws are all still there and no sign that the Labour party has an appetite to change them.
I
I dont believe that any countrys economy is crash proof so the obligatory one side says look at Ireland/Iceland! and the other says what about Norway! is not on my mind at the moment.(by the way Icelands economy grew by 2.8% last year maybe something to do with them jailing bankers and putting banks into liquidation)
Its the political deadlock in the UK with all major parties occupying a centre/centre right position and working people having to turn to right wing parties for the answers that makes me consider breaking away and as in the Branch No2 statement the trade union laws are all still there and no sign that the Labour party has an appetite to change them.
I
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fishtank
- Posts: 19732
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Re: CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 24#p549405" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
good times, bad times you know I've had my share
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Danelectro
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mailman71
- Posts: 500
- Joined: 10 Jun 2007, 08:03
Re: CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
i wont be voting for independence,if we had been when the crunch came in 2008 our 2 banks rbs and bank of scotland would have been down the tubes.
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brothermagrew
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Re: CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
Scottish GDP in 2008 was an estimated £145 billion. The cost to the UK of the RBS / HBOS bail out in 2008 was £88 billion. However the actual Scottish share on a per capita basis was £8.8 billion, and on the debt accrued by the Scottish registered banks which would have been an independent Scotland's liability is estimated at £2.4 billion. We'd only have had to cough up even that much assuming that Scotland implemented the same slash-and-burn approach to regulation of the financial sector as Westminster.mailman71 wrote:i wont be voting for independence,if we had been when the crunch came in 2008 our 2 banks rbs and bank of scotland would have been down the tubes.
It wasn't Scotland that allowed bankers to run riot, it was Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling. Brown and Darling and their ilk are effectively telling us we can't be independent because they're so bleedin' incompetent. But we already know that, which is why we're not so inclined to vote for them any more.
As Andrew Hughes Hallett. Professor of Economics at St Andrew’s University, put it, speaking on Radio Scotland.
"The real point here, and this is the real point, is by international convention, when banks which operate in more than one country get into these sorts of conditions, the bailout is shared in proportion to the area of activities of those banks, and therefore it’s shared between several countries. In the case of the RBS, I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but roughly speaking 90% of its operations are in England and 10% are in Scotland, the result being, by that convention, therefore, that the rest of the UK would have to carry 90% of the liabilities of the RBS and Scotland 10%. And the precedent for this, if you want to go into the details, are the Fortis Bank and the Dexia Bank, which are two banks which were shared between France, Belgium and the Netherlands, at the same time were bailed out in proportion by France, Belgium and the Netherlands."
"Today’s workplace has become heartless and soulless. Employees are seen as units of labour, automatons, functionaries, objects for achieving designated tasks, and as costs to be minimised."
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steven100
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Re: CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
I think Scottish number 2 branch need to get there priorities right and get some delivery offices sorted instead of giving a vote of independence in Scotland. I never voted Yes, and I'm against independence.
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newtimes
- EX ROYAL MAIL
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Re: CWU in the YES camp for Scottish independance
see topic http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 18&t=61030" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;steven100 wrote:I think Scottish number 2 branch need to get there priorities right and get some delivery offices sorted instead of giving a vote of independence in Scotland. I never voted Yes, and I'm against independence.