UNION LENDS POSTIE STRIKE £1M TO BUY HOMES

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Its just noise from anti union press. There have been no rules broken, they are loans which they could not have got anywhere else because of the possibility of being voted out at some point. Its comparable with MPs getting help with 2nd homes the difference is BD and DW are paying it back instead of pocketing it.

Its a pity that it fills some peoples biased views even on here.

[stephen500]

Whilst It does not need a rocket scientist to guess at the motives of the writer, I still get uncomfortable reading this.
Nb Bear in mind this article is probally written to undermine the dispute.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 888967.ece

Posties' leaders use union cash for homes.
"The union bosses leading the postal strike have used more than £1m of their members’ money to buy homes with heavily subsidised mortgages.

Dave Ward, the Communication Workers Union’s (CWU) chief negotiator in the dispute, is one of seven union executives who are paying as little as 0.375% on their mortgages. They have been guaranteed rates at three-quarters of the prevailing Bank of England base rate, currently 0.5%.

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU, borrowed the entire value of his property from the union on a different type of deal, personally signed off by Alan Johnson, its former leader and now the home secretary.

The revelation, which comes as the union prepares to follow up two days of strike chaos with three days of rolling action later this week, is likely to anger postmen and Royal Mail customers.

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The long-running dispute has already resulted in a backlog of more than 30m undelivered letters, a figure that is likely to rise dramatically after union action expected on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The Sunday Times has established that Ward was lent £100,000 of union funds to buy a house in Chessington, Surrey, in late 2005.

He later acted as the trustee of a similar loan that allowed Tony Kearns, another member of the CWU’s high command, to borrow £268,000 from the union to buy a property in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.

The CWU said officials were lent union money so they could afford to relocate to work in the union’s headquarters in London, where property prices are higher.

However, Kevin Slocombe, a senior CWU official, was lent more than £187,000 to buy a property in Bristol in July last year. Tony Rupa, the union’s head of legal services, borrowed £130,000 of union money for a house in Crawley, West Sussex.

According to Land Registry documents, almost all of the mortgages levy interest at three-quarters of the Bank’s base rate. This means most of the CWU’s leaders may be paying 0.375% on their mortgages. According to Moneyfacts, the price-comparison website, the typical rate on a two-year fixed mortgage is currently 5.08%.

Ray Boulger, technical director of Charcol, the mortgage broker, said: “These days, it is near-unique for an employer to lend an employee money to buy a home.”

This newspaper found evidence of eight serving CWU officials with union mortgages, and two former officials who had enjoyed the perk in the past. Three of the properties are in Surrey, with two in Wimbledon, west London.

Johnson, who served as the CWU’s general secretary until becoming an MP in 1997, had a union mortgage on his home in Norwood, south London.

When he became a junior minister at the Department of Trade and Industry in 1999, he transferred his mortgage to another lender to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

In 1995 Johnson had approved a £77,000 home loan for Hayes, the current general secretary, so he could buy a £76,000 property in Mitcham, Surrey.

Hayes, whose remuneration last year added up to £97,000, is paying more than his colleagues, with an interest rate of 5%. The home secretary’s name can still be seen on the mortgage document.

Another key player in the current dispute, Andy Furey, the union’s assistant secretary and national officer for post offices, borrowed £200,000 to buy a house in Raynes Park, south London.

A CWU source said that details of the mortgages were published in a document available to the union’s members. “Our senior people are only elected for a fixed term and that can make it difficult to get a mortgage,” the source said.

The CWU’s 250,000 members last year paid a total of £27.4m in subscriptions.

A senior source at the Trades Union Congress said he had never heard of a union lending members’ funds to senior staff. “This should not be happening,” he said.

“Many of our members are on low incomes. They give us their money to fight their corner — not buy nice houses.”

The CWU’s close ties to the Labour party have been a source of embarrassment to the government during the dispute. The union has given nearly £7m to Labour since 2001 — including £1.4m in the run-up to the last general election.

Ward last week raised the prospect of withdrawing funding to Labour over the government’s handing of the Royal Mail dispute. "

[stephen500]

I just noticed some body else posted this article...This one is from The Times.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I just noticed some body else posted this article...This one is from The Times.

Merged Topics

[ExSG]

I presume that any of these loans etc would be declared in the Union's accounts so the deatil is there for all to see. Sadly, as virtually none of the members ever take the trouble to read them it will indeed come as a shock. Those members who do read this type of information will already know that it is the norm and thus will be disinclined to shout about it.

We put these people in the jobs so we should expect to pay them reasonable terms the senior positions come with. I would rather pay someone who I have some faith in than a millionaire MP claiming to have their moat cleaned out.

[dvbuk55]

I can understand lending money for someone outside of London to buy a property in London, but some of these are Londoners - as for the guy buying a house in Bristol - c'mon, that's some commute. Doesn't this amount of money appear in the Union accounts and if it does is it as transparent as it should be.

But these matters are for discussion after the current dispute is over.

In the meantime I'd like RM to lend me the money to buy a villa in Spain - because it can be difficult to get a mortgage when you're old and grey but need the warmth.

[Fred B]

It's been going on for years. I remember reading how Keggie got a loan at very low interest from the CWU and that must be getting on for ten years ago.

[opgpat]

Well I guess the difference between CWU and RM big bosses is that RM bosses don't need loans as they already get substantial pay, bonus and pension awards. Now that is money we the workers have earned and they have taken, for good, there's no paying it back for them.

btw Crozier gets 30 times or more renumenration p.a. than Hayes. Does he work 30 times harder? I wonder

[infidel]

no perks for members then no perks for anyone we are the union,politicians bad enough hope this is not true of union
leaders.

[opgpat]

no perks for members then no perks for anyone we are the union,politicians bad enough hope this is not true of union
leaders.

Yes but they are employees of the CWU and we aren't. Employee benifits in the housing arena are standard across the country and not something we should really be surprised or concerned about unless the loans impacted on the day to day workings of the CWU - which is unlikely. If they weren't offered these cheap loans by their employer they might request higher wages to pay for high-street mortgages so this may be cost effective. And just to clarify these loans save the guys maybe 2 or 3 grand a year each - money which would come from CWU wage fund and go directly to the city bankers if they had high-street loans.

As CWU members we have do have services open to us all
http://www.cwu.org/11995/membership-services.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Night Tonic]

Except that its union subs that have bought these 'small' houses. If I was Hayes I'd probably be toasting my toes by the fire this evening and laughing my head off.

[axeman]

the difference being crazier bought or could have bought his off our backs at 2.5 million on just a part of his bonus payments

[luckyllama]

when there is a strike do the representatives who work for the CWU lose a days pay alongside the strikers?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

when there is a strike do the representatives who work for the CWU lose a days pay alongside the strikers?

Convention is that officers at a certain level who are on CWU salaries, donate an equivalent of 1 days pay for each strike thats called. IE they called us for 2 1 dayers last week and 3 1 dayers this week. So BH and DW and others will have donated 1 days wages each time.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Except that its union subs that have bought these 'small' houses. If I was Hayes I'd probably be toasting my toes by the fire this evening and laughing my head off.

AT least they are paying it back and its above board and in the accounts - unlike the politicians who pocketed ot and flipped addresses whenever it was beneficial for them not for us.