Ward: What I Could Bring To The Leadership

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-90 ... leadership" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

At the recent anti-racism march in London, I was asked why our union, the CWU, is holding a general secretary election just a few weeks before the country goes to the polls to choose a new government.

I explained that the timing was due to our incumbent general secretary wanting to bring forward at short notice the leadership election scheduled for 2016 — a choice that even prime ministers no longer have.

Our 200,000 members have received their ballot papers for what is going to be a pivotal election for our union — setting the course for our industrial and political strategy going forward.

I see the role of general secretary not as just a figurehead but as someone who will lead from the front, in the same way as I have led many national industrial disputes of postal workers.

And it’s also a job that needs to be totally focused on reasserting trade union values in society — not acting as a liaison officer for the Labour Party.

I see the biggest danger to workers in today’s highly competitive economy as the “race to the bottom,” in which employers are competing for business by ruthlessly undercutting pay, terms and conditions.

At the two companies where most of our members are employed — Royal Mail and BT — we continue to resist the race to the bottom by successfully maintaining our membership density, our workplace organisation and our industrial strength.

In the CWU we have to push this struggle forward, by organising right across the postal, logistics and communications sectors, taking shop floor trade unionism into the new companies emerging in our industries.

I am committed to a fundamental review of CWU structures to free up more resources on organising and recruitment.

And it’s time for a stronger and more co-ordinated effort across the whole movement to shift the balance of forces at the workplace and I will be making this argument at the TUC for an alliance of unions with a common purpose in mobilising workers to raise British employment standards, pay, terms and conditions across the country.

I’m determined to fight against austerity, the anti-union laws, against the Tory-led coalition, and against the divisive ideas of Ukip.

We do need a Labour election victory but going forward there will be no more something for nothing blind loyalty to Labour and we will only support MPs who support us.

Our movement also needs a fresh debate on Europe — a debate which puts workers’ rights first and foremost. The EU has supported austerity and liberalisation to the detriment of working people and this must change.

On the subject of equalities, my focus will be on taking equality into mainstream industrial union work and I am committed to CWU representative structures reflecting the gender, ethnicity and diversity of the membership, through sponsoring and mentoring parallel industrial roles.

Sex discrimination at work, race discrimination at work, or discrimination against gay workers are issues for the whole membership of our union and we must tackle them together as workplace issues.

I believe the CWU can grow and be an even stronger force for workers’ rights across the communications, postal and logistics industries — and a positive influence within the wider working-class movement in the period ahead.

Dave Ward is deputy general secretary of the CWU.

[dvbuk55]

Was he really asked that question or like all politicos is he answering a question no-one asked but he wanted to answer anyway.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Was he really asked that question or like all politicos is he answering a question no-one asked but he wanted to answer anyway.

Its been asked a few times on here.

[dvbuk55]

But on here is not at the anti racism march is it? Had the question need answering it could have been on here could it not?

David Cameron in the North West this week visited a village not too far away from where I live and in the local paper was a splurge about how the villagers were so happy to have a conservative government building houses - which have been under construction for the last 15 years. They may have been happy about the house building.

[motherhubbard]

Leading from the front .......
Oh happy days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLLW0HiFNHM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dvbuk55]

Got it, it was Billy who asked him the question wasn't it? It had to be him or the woman with the megaphone, there was only the 3 of them there outside Greggs I believe.

[fishtank]

I am committed to a fundamental review of CWU structures

Oh goody , another review.
How long will this one last, how much will it cost and when it achieves the square root of f**k all again when does the next review start? We all know what's wrong with HQ, we don't need another review to tell us it's bloated, lacks any real direction and is completely out of touch with the world of work but who's going to offer themselves up as a sacrifice?

What exactly does a Policy Advisor do? Everybody at 150 the Broadway seems to have one.

[dvbuk55]

Just how long can the CWU survive on rhetoric? When the membership falls to a level that RM can ignore the CWU, what then? In fact I would go so far as to say that level has already been reached and if it wasn't for the CWU leadership kowtowing to the demands made by RM they would already be dead in the water. It's no wonder many members see the CWU as just another tier of management these days.

[slinder123]

just an insight as to were i think we are at the moment in my own delivery office .the union in our office is not a union .its every man for himself and to be honest to them they only pay there dues awaiting the day they appear before the dsm for something stupid . all due to the increase in workload and decrease in the time to do it .our office is at the moment 60 percent non union as quite a few have stopped paying in to a system where when you need help the road to it is longer than the great wall of china. so i suggest dave starts at grass roots and tries to bond the men .where he gets 200/000 members from just shows how out of touch he is

[dvbuk55]

just an insight as to were i think we are at the moment in my own delivery office .the union in our office is not a union .its every man for himself and to be honest to them they only pay there dues awaiting the day they appear before the dsm for something stupid . all due to the increase in workload and decrease in the time to do it .our office is at the moment 60 percent non union as quite a few have stopped paying in to a system where when you need help the road to it is longer than the great wall of china. so i suggest dave starts at grass roots and tries to bond the men .where he gets 200/000 members from just shows how out of touch he is

ALL members pal, not just RM employees, makes it sound like a really huge organisation but RM employee members are getting less and less and small pockets of other businesses with members to boost the figures.

[Van Driver]

just an insight as to were i think we are at the moment in my own delivery office .the union in our office is not a union .its every man for himself and to be honest to them they only pay there dues awaiting the day they appear before the dsm for something stupid . all due to the increase in workload and decrease in the time to do it .our office is at the moment 60 percent non union as quite a few have stopped paying in to a system where when you need help the road to it is longer than the great wall of china. so i suggest dave starts at grass roots and tries to bond the men .where he gets 200/000 members from just shows how out of touch he is

Its cries for help like this that I think we should all be queuing up to help - surely this is what this site should be all about! There is something wrong if members aren't getin the support they need. There are people on here more experienced than me so why has no offered some help. A work place with a larger number of people not in the union is a massive problem - from what I hear dave ward is a grass roots man but criky he aint a one man band. If no one hear can do say anything positive then this site aint worth much. sorry to be negative but come on this sort of stuff is what a union is all about.

[POSTMAN]

Its cries for help like this that I think we should all be queuing up to help - surely this is what this site should be all about! There is something wrong if members aren't getin the support they need. There are people on here more experienced than me so why has no offered some help. A work place with a larger number of people not in the union is a massive problem - from what I hear dave ward is a grass roots man but criky he aint a one man band. If no one hear can do say anything positive then this site aint worth much. sorry to be negative but come on this sort of stuff is what a union is all about.

Seriously confused with what you've posted here.

[bogstandard]

Was he really asked that question or like all politicos is he answering a question no-one asked but he wanted to answer anyway.

no dvb he really WAS asked that question,
I explained that the timing was due to our incumbent general secretary wanting to bring forward,
the rest of it, well who knows why he went off on a tangent or why or even if they quetioner even hung around for the rest of the promo.

[motherhubbard]

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/20208Build" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; the left in CWU elections

Clive Walder, CWU telecoms sector
Communication Workers Union (CWU) members will shortly be electing a new general secretary as well as national and sector executives.

Existing general secretary Billy Hayes is seeking re-election for the last time before his retirement. He is being opposed by the postal deputy general secretary Dave Ward.

Ward has been making left noises during the campaign but doesn't have a track record of delivering left policies.

Royal Mail was privatised without a shot being fired in anger under his watch in 2013.

Billy Hayes was a founder member of the old Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) Broad Left. He has had consistently identified with the left and has spoken on both Socialist Party and National Shop Stewards Network platforms. Union members should back Hayes.

Telecoms

Telecoms sector elections will give members a chance to register opposition to the current executive's signing of an agreement last September which enshrined lower pay and longer hours for new staff.

The Broad Left, which is standing more candidates than before, will oppose any further attacks on pay and conditions.

It calls for an industrial action ballot if the latest agreement on performance management fails to improve conditions and for the conversion of all agency staff to BT contracts.

[Van Driver]

Its cries for help like this that I think we should all be queuing up to help - surely this is what this site should be all about! There is something wrong if members aren't getin the support they need. There are people on here more experienced than me so why has no offered some help. A work place with a larger number of people not in the union is a massive problem - from what I hear dave ward is a grass roots man but criky he aint a one man band. If no one hear can do say anything positive then this site aint worth much. sorry to be negative but come on this sort of stuff is what a union is all about.

Seriously confused with what you've posted here.

Sorry Postman to have confused but Slinder 123 said the union in our office is not a union I think this as I say is a cry for help and can't be left to the general secretary. So what I mean is cant the people who use this site help him.