Derby CWU members 'Meeting the Challenge'

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CWU activists at Derby Delivery Office have increased CWU membership by 10 per cent over the past few months - thanks to "collective hard work, dedication and determination."

Unit rep Dave Sharman and his sub-rep Graham Anthony, supported by local branch secretary Chris Sheldon and regional organiser Alan Smith have worked together over the past few months to deploy the union's new Meeting the Challenge strategy at the office.

Both Dave and Chris agree that workload is increasing here - "parcel and packet growth has far exceeded letter decline," says Chris, while Dave points out: "When I first started in 1997, my job was five or six bundles - now an average workload is five or six bags."

To cope with the rising work, the reps explained that the unit is recruiting an extra 25 members of staff - and CWU recruitment has increased recently too, with the union's frontline organisation strengthened by the assistance of 10 volunteer workplace committee members.

Graham explains how the recruitment work has been organised, saying: "We mapped the office - that way we could see clearly where people weren't members. Quite often we found that people just hadn't been approached about membership. We also recorded where forms had been given out and what follow up was needed - basically we directed our efforts.

"Stopped members have also been approached and we've been able to address some of the concerns that made them leave the union - we've had some success in getting them to rejoin," he continues.

Dave adds: "We also found that as we went around the office talking to non-members, we also spoke to members too - explaining the purpose of the new committee and encouraging them to get involved.

"We started off trying to hold our regular meetings during the meal break, but this proved impractical, so we changed to out of hours and off-site meetings," Dave continues, adding: "When we meet, we have a formal agenda, minutes, reports etc, and we discuss the issues raised and take decisions collectively."

Tim Daniels, one of Dave's volunteer committee members, says that the new system means that "if people in my part of the office have issues they need to raise, then they can raise them direct with me and I can relay this onto Dave and/or Graham.

"The committee system is giving the union back to the workforce," he adds.

Alan Smith, the union's Midlands Region organiser, explained that this is one of the "key planks of our organising strategy.

"Chris, Dave, Graham and others are doing a great job here - member involvement has increased, the unit rep is being supported and membership levels are up," he added.

CWU senior organiser Lynn Browne said: "The collective hard work, dedication and determination of the team at Derby is to be highly commended.

"Meeting the Challenge is the union's long-term strategy for increasing membership involvement, supporting workplace reps, strengthening organisation and raising membership levels - and it's starting to take root in local areas around the country, thanks to the enthusiasm of local reps and activists and supported by my team of regional organisers."

Meeting the Challenge: If you're a unit rep who needs more support, or a members who wants to become more involved in your union's work, get in touch by contacting your local branch or regional organiser. Alternatively you can contact Lynn Browne, Senior Organiser Postal Department on lbrowne@cwu.org 07735776364. For more information visit Postal Workplace Organisers. http://www.cwu.org/workplace-organisers.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;