CWU conference: Support joint union action on 30 June

A postal worker

Morale among postal workers has never been so low. We think things can't get any worse but they do. One of the Brown government's final acts was to appoint new chief executive, Moya Greene, with the job of privatising Royal Mail.

She's overseeing the closure of seven mail centres in the London area and the one in Hull, where workers are being offered jobs in Sheffield. A round trip of 140 miles! This will lead to thousands of redundancies, many compulsory. This smashes the 2010 Business Transformation Agreement, which the CWU leadership tells us is a great deal. It is not.

After 6,000 job losses, greater workload and pensions cuts, members feel let down. They are mistrustful of the CWU leadership.

There are rumours that we in Royal Mail may be balloted for action over pensions, as the Con-Dems' plan is to raid the fund's £25 billion assets and transfer us to an even worse scheme than the one we were shunted onto two years ago. But we should have been balloted over the closure of the final salary scheme. And this lack of fight is leading many workers to question the value of being a CWU member.

Job losses are adding to the funding crisis in the CWU. But members are also becoming disillusioned and leaving because they feel they are not being properly represented.

This is a message to the leadership and officials. You've got to start listening to us. You are supposed to represent our interests, not accept job cuts or negotiate pay cuts. You've got to get us back on side by showing you are up for a fight against all attacks on the workers.

Postal workers also face attacks on the public services we all rely on from the savage cuts in public spending announced by the government and councils across the country. Widespread, coordinated industrial action backed up by movements of local communities and service users is what's needed to stop the cuts.

Our union must support all such movements, we should try to link our own action with that of other trade unions.

A one-day strike of Royal Mail members against privatisation on 30 June when other public sector workers will be taking strike action would show the government that we won't accept attacks on Royal Mail lying down.

Whatever happens, CWU should support workers taking action on 30 June and we should march with them on the regional and city-wide demonstrations.

National Shop Stewards Network CWU conference meeting

Sunday 22 May, 6pm

Hermitage hotel, Exeter Road, Bournemouth.

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