Speech by Dave Ward to CWU postal conference, May 24 2011

24 May 2011

It has been another hard year and on behalf of the PEC we pay tribute to all of our representatives in all Royal Mail Group Businesses and its subsidiaries.

We pay tribute to your dedication and determination – your principles and values – and above all your courage.

You really are a key part of this Union – representing CWU members in what we all know is a much harsher environment.

It is without doubt a most challenging time for CWU members. The vast majority will be increasingly worried about their job security – yet we also know they don't like change – many are struggling to cope with the sheer scale of change that is affecting every aspect of their job.

In recognising all of these difficulties we must continue to be honest with ourselves and our members. Business Transformation was always going to be difficult and unpopular – but with the circumstances surrounding this industry everybody knows it has to be done.

The challenge for us - is how do we take our members with us through this change – whilst at the same time dealing with an employer whose recent actions suggest they have had their heads turned by the prospect of privatisation – and whilst also dealing with the policies of successive Governments which continue to threaten the future of this industry.

We are confident that this Union can and will once again rise to all the challenges that lie ahead. To do this our strategy will focus on doing three things very effectively.

Firstly - we must retain a sense of realism about what is happening to this industry. Every CWU Rep must recognise that there is growing evidence that the Postal market is in decline and that the shape and size of the Postal Industry is changing forever.

Unless we are honest about this and unless we are prepared to embrace and shape change in the right way - then more jobs will be at risk.

Our experiences in Parcelforce is an example. Some years ago the scale of change was very painful and in proportion arguably had a greater impact on the overall number of jobs and depots – but by being prepared to take difficult decisions about change - with the officers of our Union leading that debate - we are now beginning to see that part of our industry grow again.

As part of this realism our task is to make the Royal Mail Group develop policies that can take advantage of growth opportunities in all businesses within the group. Our recent breakthrough on regulation will go someway to supporting the company in the development of new products and services.

But what is key to a successful strategy for growth - and could well become the battle ground of the future - is whether new jobs are directly employed CWU members on terms and conditions that set the benchmark for the industry - or whether the company writes off the existing workforce and follows the path of more self employed people - on inferior terms and conditions -similar to the competitors preferred model.

The second thing we must do – is that however difficult it may become – when this employer or this Government want to walk away from our agreements and our shared vision of modernisation - then we must be prepared to take whatever steps are necessary – including industrial action - to defend our members - our industry and its core public service values. We will debate later today the Emergency Motion that sets out our policy for doing this.

The third thing we must do – is to undertake our biggest ever consultation with our members. This has to be a two-way exercise. We need to listen and act on their legitimate concerns at the workplace - but we must also explain to our members how their local issues are being affected by the bigger picture as set out in our Emergency Motion.

I am convinced that if we reject the blame culture and explain the policies of this Union to our members they will once again recognise the need to support their Union.

We have seen this again in the last few months - where in very difficult circumstances we gained magnificent support from our members in POL and achieved for them an excellent agreement. This came about through the hard work of the officers and Headquarters staff alongside the efforts of our representatives out in the field.

Always remember our biggest strength is our ability to talk to our members.

Conference – So through a combination of being realistic about the circumstances facing the industry – showing our traditional strength in facing up to the employer and the Government - and by being prepared to take the arguments into the workplace – we will rise to the challenges that lie ahead.

In our deliberations this week it is important we recognise that the issues threatening our future impact on all CWU grades in all the businesses where we represent members. This is why our Emergency motion covers all members across the Royal Mail Group.

In advance of our deliberations I want to set the scene on some of the big ticket issues.

Privatisation – it is a fact that at some point in the course of the coming weeks the Postal Services Bill will achieve Royal assent. In response what we have put in place is a policy that takes us beyond that point – it allows us to continue the fight – ensures we can protect and defend our members' jobs, terms and conditions and means that whatever the outcome the CWU is here to stay.

At the centre of our policy is also the need to defend the Post Office Network – secure our members' pension entitlements - and defeat the growing threat of compulsory redundancies.

As well as dealing with all of these issues we must continue to drive through necessary reform of our Union.
• The case for change is not just financial it's about what type of Union we want to be.

• Its about putting workplace reps and workplace organisation at the centre of everything we do.

• Our current structures at CWU Headquarters will need to be streamlined to achieve those objectives.

To sum up - we know that the problems facing the Postal Industry are greater than any other UK industry today.

This means that what the future holds at this moment in time is uncertain – but there is one thing that we can be absolutely certain about – its only the Trade Union that really looks after working people – if we come together and take the arguments to our members in the workplace they will support us and we will achieve a better outcome for everybody who cares about the future of this industry.

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