ONLY IN BELFAST...

[scottyb]

Dear Colleagues,

Today I attended (briefly) a CWU union meeting organised by Mr xxx xxxxx (Branch Administrator, N Ireland No1 Branch).

The first item on the agenda was the exclusion of a former committee member (Branch Secretary) Mr A. Debate ensued as to whether Mr x would allow Mr A to attend the meeting, which was billed as a meeting of committed Union Members with a view to moving the Branch Forward.

I listened carefully to Mr X and was shocked to hear, that because one person had objections then Mr A, would not be allowed to attend, Mr x went on to say that the exclusion was because, only members who could participate in the future of the branch would be allowed to attend, and because Mr A, was a portable member he could not participate as he couldn’t stand for election and be a future officer, Mr X was unable to produce the union rule that indicated this, we don’t believe one exists.

It was not lost on both of us that Mr X, from Liverpool was excluding a valuable and committed union member and former committee member from entering the Northern Ireland No1 Branch room, a sign which hung over his head like Damocles sword.

Mr X went further and indicated that if anyone at the meeting raised any issue that was found to be objectionable then they would be asked to leave. If the person refused to leave then he (Mr X) would call the Police and have them removed!

After hearing this I decided that I also would leave, as I have never attended a trade union meeting under these constraints nor would I ever.

I have to say I was quite shocked that not only was this a meeting of exclusion but you could get ejected by the local constabulary if you debated issues the others or even one person didn’t like. Quite astounding.

I have to say also I found it quite a challenge to go to this meeting, as it was the first time I was in my own Branch room since I had resigned my position as Deputy Branch Secretary in November 2005. This was after three individuals purporting to represent a paramiliatary organisation had visited my home and issued threats to me to my partner, which was linked to my trade union activities.

I along with my partner visited CWU Head Office in February 2006 at the invitation of the Mr B. Mr B dispatched a letter to all the members of the Northern Ireland No1 condemning this threat against a CWU Officer and offering his support to my family, and encouraged all union members to do likewise. He also gave a firm commitment that an enquiry would be established surrounding this and the ongoing problems within the Branch. Nearly one year later this enquiry has never taken place.

One of the other ongoing problems surrounding the branch was recommendations from an independent TUC led investigation into malicious and scurrilous rumours spread around our Branch and CWU HQ concerning our then Branch Secretary MR A. This report found a senior member of the CWU HQ guilty of perpetuating these vile rumours and recommended that a wide ranging investigation take place within the Northern Ireland No1 branch concerning this. Almost two years later these independent TUC recommendations have not been carried out.

Tomorrow you may receive a report from the Northern Ireland No 1 Branch which may say everything is rosey in the garden, I always believe that there are two sides to every story and would ask that some brave soul on the National Executive Council ask the General Secretary why no enquiries or independent TUC recommendations have been carried out and if is now union policy to have the Police on standby at Union meetings?

Yours faithfully
xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx
Committed CWU Member and Rep
Northern Ireland No1 Branch

[rubycon 1]

Dear Scottyb,

I have just read your contribution regarding the union meeting for your Branch. Although you posted the article some weeks ago I thought I would clarify one point you raised. Whilst I have very little knowledge of the difficulties your Branch is going through, what I can confirm is this - you are quite right to assume that no rule exists regarding the participation of portability members, in fact if you check with the Organising Dept at CWUHQ they will confim to you that there are one or two Branches that do have Branch Officers that only hold portability membership. My apologies if this information is not of much use to you now, only I don't log this site on very often.

[ian1]

scottyb,i take it from your detailed report that you reported this incident to the local constabulary for them to deal with and those responsible have now been brought to justice

[DGP1]

scottyb,i take it from your detailed report that you reported this incident to the local constabulary for them to deal with and those responsible have now been brought to justice

Sometimes it's best not to contact the police here because that used to end up with a OBE

[TrueBlueTerrier]

scottyb,i take it from your detailed report that you reported this incident to the local constabulary for them to deal with and those responsible have now been brought to justice

Sometimes it's best not to contact the police here because that used to end up with a OBE

Have not heard that term for years,

[scottyb]

scottyb,i take it from your detailed report that you reported this incident to the local constabulary for them to deal with and those responsible have now been brought to justice

would that be the psni ian1.

[DGP1]

scottyb,i take it from your detailed report that you reported this incident to the local constabulary for them to deal with and those responsible have now been brought to justice

Sometimes it's best not to contact the police here because that used to end up with a OBE

Have not heard that term for years,

Yeah, I know it's not the language that's used anymore but the sentiment remains the same, in certain areas you do not contact the police (especially if paramilitaries are involved)

[ian1]

are they not the ruc over there.i cannot understand the fear of paramilitaries if sinn fein are now in government

[DGP1]

are they not the ruc over there.i cannot understand the fear of paramilitaries if sinn fein are now in government

Hasn't been the RUC for years. Paramilitaries still exist and they still can make their presence known.

[scottyb]

Dear Scottyb,

I have just read your contribution regarding the union meeting for your Branch. Although you posted the article some weeks ago I thought I would clarify one point you raised. Whilst I have very little knowledge of the difficulties your Branch is going through, what I can confirm is this - you are quite right to assume that no rule exists regarding the participation of portability members, in fact if you check with the Organising Dept at CWUHQ they will confim to you that there are one or two Branches that do have Branch Officers that only hold portability membership. My apologies if this information is not of much use to you now, only I don't log this site on very often.

thanks rubycon 1 its good info..

[marky]

rubycon1 any rules on a stood down member of a suspended branch, who is a xxxxxx running around acting like hes the branch sec. he has 63 members who he says he represents but funny he never puts his post up for election does it by dicktat...

[marky]

wonder if the police are on standby for sundays bogus agm...

[TrueBlueTerrier]

are they not the ruc over there.i cannot understand the fear of paramilitaries if sinn fein are now in government

As I understand it Sinn Fein where the "Political" front for the IRA, but they did not have any real control over them:

This page http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/dg78/100 ... s/ira3.htm shows how many groups there were and each to a lesser or greater degree controlled their own policing and punishments in their own areas. It still goes on as far as I know which is a bane of contention for people on each side of the divide.

Continuity IRA (CIRA)

A radical splinter group whose origins date back to a split in Sinn Fein in 1986 but which emerged in 1996 after the "official" IRA's ceasefire. The Continuity IRA is opposed to any deal not based on a united Ireland and is dedicated to the removal of all British forces from Northern Ireland. It was responsible for the 1996 bombing of the Killyhelvin Hotel in Enniskillen.

Irish National Liberation Army (INLA)

Initially known as the People's Liberation Army (its cover names include the People's Republican Army and Catholic Reaction Force), the INLA was formed by Official IRA and Official Sinn Fein members disillusioned by the 1975 ceasefire. A hardline republican paramilitary group responsible for over 100 killings, it first gained notoriety in 1979 with the murder of Airey Neave, a Conservative MP and Northern Ireland spokesman, in a car bomb attack in the House of Commons car park. It declared a ceasefire in 1998 and was the first republican paramilitary group to declare that the war was over.

Irish People's Liberation Organisation (IPLO)

A splinter group from the INLA, it was subsequently involved in the dispute between the Army Council and Belfast Brigade, both of which disbanded in 1992 after some of their members were attacked by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

The IRA is the chief republican paramilitary group. It was founded nearly 80 years ago to fight for an independent Ireland. In 1969 it split into the Official IRA and the Provisional IRA (the former had adopted a Marxist political ideology and rejected violence while the latter favoured being an armed force). Following the Official IRA ceasefire of 1972, the Provisionals became known as the IRA.

Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF)

A hardline Protestant paramilitary group formed in 1996, the LVF is primarily made up of ex-loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force members who are against the Good Friday Agreement. Its founder, Billy "King Rat" Wright, was murdered by a member of the INLA in the Maze prison in December 1997

Provisional IRA

The Provisional IRA grew out of a conflict of ideology and strategy between the left and right wing of the IRA in the late 1960s. Sinn Fein member Danny Morrison once described the PIRA's approach to the removal of British influence from Ireland as "a ballot paper in one hand and an Armalite rifle in the other." Its operations on mainland Britain include the large truck bombing in the City of London in 1993. It has received aid from a variety of groups and countries, particularly training and arms from Libya and, at one time, the Palestine Liberation Organisation and is also suspected of receiving funds and arms from sympathizers in the United States.

Real IRA

Founded in 1997 when a dozen members of the Provisional IRA broke away in protest at Sinn Fein's entry into dialogue with the British and Irish governments. Also known as the New IRA, it was responsible for the Omagh bombing on August 15 1998 in which 29 people died. The group later said it regretted the civilian deaths and called a ceasefire less than a month later. Following the split from the IRA, it worked with the Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

Red Hand Commandos

A loyalist paramilitary group, which was officially outlawed in 1973. It is associated with the Ulster Volunteer Force and forms part of the Combined Loyalist Military Command, which declared a ceasefire in 1994

Red Hand Defenders (RHD)

A renegade loyalist group opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, it began to operate in 1998 and is believed to be made up of dissident members of other paramilitary organisations, including the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF), the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). The group claimed responsibility for the 1999 murder in Lurgan of Rosemary Nelson, a Catholic human rights solicitor, and the 2001 drive-by shooting death in northern Belfast of Gavin Brett, an 18-year-old Protestant apparently mistaken for a Catholic.

Ulster Defence Association (UDA)

The UDA, which was formed in the early 1970s as an umbrella organisation for loyalist groups, had at one stage up to 40,000 members but was banned in 1992. It was set up to "protect the Loyalist community from attempts to persecute them by armed attack and political subversion," and is the ally of the Ulster Democratic Party. A UDA cover-name is the Ulster Freedom Fighters and because of its links to the UFF, the Ulster Democratic Party was suspended from the peace process temporarily but was readmitted when the UFF announced a renewed ceasefire in January 1998

Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)

While a Protestant group of this name was against Home Rule in 1912, the modern equivalent emerged in 1966 in opposition to liberal unionism and with the stated aim of killing IRA members. The UVF is held responsible for dozens of killings, and has links with the Progressive Unionist Party. It forms part of the Combined Loyalist Military Command, which declared a ceasefire in October 1994. It is sometimes known as the Protestant Action Force

[marky]

good post tbt but you forgot to say that there is no place in a union for anyone who is a member of all the scumbag groups you have listed.

[L Tommo]

ON THE PISS IN BELFAST IN MARCH....