Balls to speak at CWU conference

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General secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Billy Hayes, outlines what the union's members can expect at its five day annual conference in Bournemouth.

Could you tell us about the Communication Workers' Union annual conference, its aims and objectives. Who will be the headline speakers?

Conference is the policy-making body of this trade union so it's an important event for developing our position on political and industrial issues. The shadow chancellor Ed Balls is speaking on Monday and we also have Lord Bill McKenzie, Labour shadow health and safety minister, speaking at a fringe meeting, as well as a full range of campaign speakers on student protests, international issues and more.

We'll have over 800 delegates and visitors at our conference this year. It's being held in Bournemouth for five days and we'll discuss a range of issues affecting our members – from government cuts, youth unemployment and pension changes, to Royal Mail privatisation, performance management and even police 'kettling' tactics.

Ed Balls is set to speak at your conference on Monday 23rd. What subjects will he address?

I expect Ed will critique the government's economic policy and give some of his thoughts and arguments for why their agenda of cuts is wrong for the UK economy. High unemployment, and threats to the Health Service and other key public services, affect all our members.

We've worked closely with Ed Balls on a range of issues and Ed has been particularly outspoken about the threat of privatisation to Royal Mail. I expect he'll also speak about how the Tory-led government's plans for breaking up Royal Mail Group is a real danger to postal services and post office closures.

Is the coalition government's programme of cuts starting to bite? How is this manifesting itself?

Yes, the cuts are being felt by our members. Whether it's cuts to education budgets and after-school clubs being axed, or home help for members' elderly parents disappearing, we're hearing stories about how the cuts are affecting the everyday lives of people across the UK.

There's a real fear that working people and low-earners will be hit especially hard this year. Changes to pensions have been an unexpected blow which have huge ramifications for people approaching retirement, particularly women who lose out most. With rising inflation, the VAT rise and costs generally outstripping pay increases, further government cuts are bad news for the economy, communities and especially vulnerable people.

Could you tell us more about the Communication Workers' Union's stance on the Postal Services Bill?

The bill will change postal services in the UK forever. We've been working hard scrutinising the legislation and trying to reduce what we consider to be damaging aspects of the bill. Our main concerns have been focused on the type of postal service the UK will be left with once the bill goes through, so protecting the six-day-a-week, one-price-goes-anywhere universal service and making sure it can't be diluted in the future has been important for us.

We're still concerned that post offices will come out badly because the legislation doesn't include a safeguard that Royal Mail will continue to use the Post Office as its retail network. Without that mail business, thousands of post offices could fold and that would be terrible for mail services and communities across the UK. Privatisation is another concern, as we've seen in other industries – the railways, for example – that the pursuit of profit means that prices for consumers rise while services often deteriorate. The quality and security of jobs in the sector is another thing we're working closely on.

What are the other key issues facing your members?

In the telecoms sector, the future of superfast broadband is a major concern. We believe there is an urgent need for government investment in broadband infrastructure to ensure the UK is equipped with sufficient communications networks.