EMERGENCY Motion E3 dealing with a ballot for national industrial action was passed unanimously at the CWU Postal Section Conference in Bournemouth yesterday.
The Motion, put forward by the Postal Executive, demanded that if acceptable progress is not made on objectives within the next four weeks, a timetable for industrial action will be implemented.
The objectives are: that Royal Mail must reopen pay negotiations to ensure that CWU members have their say on a final settlement and that an agreement is made on the introduction of new technology and that Royal Mail and the government fulfil their obligations to the pension fund.
In moving the motion Dave Ward, Deputy General Secretary, said there was no choice but to confront Royal Mail, and that the imposition of a pay settlement, and the banning of the consultative ballot was a sign not of strength but of Royal Mail’s weakness.
Ward added: ‘What’s motivating Royal Mail is its desire to drive our union out of the way, so as to be able to impose conditions – this is not just about pay but about Royal Mail’s future plans.
‘We think there will never be a better opportunity to achieve a shorter working week.
‘We will not accept compulsory redundancies and we will not accept compulsory changes from full to part-time jobs.’
Ward concluded ‘If they don’t return to negotiations they will be faced with the prospect of a national strike ballot.’
The motion also pointed out that Royal Mail’s attempts to marginalise the CWU was tantamount to an act of union derecognition and that the company’s future plans to axe a further 40,000 jobs and introduce back-door privatisation were completely unacceptable.
Peter King from Manchester Amal, supporting the motion, said: ‘This motion is spot on. This fight will define what trade unions will be in the future. We must turn to the TUC for support.’
Fran Choules, South West Region No 1, said that his members wanted the union to fight for them. He added: ‘Where Royal Mail wants to use the Dutch method for introducing new machinery, we should use the French method – out on the streets to fight for our rights.’
The result of the CWU consultative ballot that Royal Mail tried to ban was a massive 91,478 yes vote out of 136,000 votes cast, confirming the CWU’s vision for a future against Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton’s share scheme.