CWU member
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has got back 93% of the members who were suspended then sacked during the Royal Mail strike. Welcome back!
But it must be said these brothers and sisters have been put through hell by management, who used the strike as a way to try to get rid of activists; these workers couldn’t pay their bills.
This is a victory for the CWU but we still need to rebuild the union in the workplace after the strike, as the attacks were a big setback for members.
As our reps and members get back to work, tensions will running high and we must protect them from any attempt by management to goad them.
We should also be pushing for an investigation into the management who sacked our members, as they clearly abused their positions.
And let’s remember the 7% who remain sacked: we should be re-looking at the cases to work out a way forward for them.
Let’s use this news as an opportunity to rebuild the CWU as an active fighting union. Some activists think, ‘What’s the point of the CWU?’ after the long, bitterly-fought strike ended. Management attacks were pushed back by the strike but Socialist Party members and others thought more could have been won, and the union’s leaders made mistakes. But now there is an opportunity to rebuild, and bring those activists who want a serious fighting union together into a left force in the union.
