President's Address to CWU Conference 1997

Conference and Comrades

It is always a pleasure to chair any meeting of the Labour and Trade Union Movement, but this year's annual conference of the CWU is particularly noteworthy - being the first since May 1979 where we have met with a Labour Government in power.

I am especially proud that so many of Parliament's new Labour MPs are members of the Communication Workers Union. I cannot pass without saying that although Alan Johnson's elevation to Parliament came as a bit of a shock for all of us, I certainly wish him well and know that he will remain a loyal member and devoted friend of this Union. I first got to know Alan well during the merger negotiations and respect his abilities as a bridge builder. I pay tribute to his role in achieving the merged Union and trust that his dynamism will help tackle the inheritance of these 18 years of Tory nightmare.

Those Labour MPs have a daunting task - mass unemployment and trade union decline have ensured that poverty is a feature for a large proportion of our population.

Sharon Watson’s article, in the current Voice, about the Priory Green estate in London should be compulsory reading for all politicians and social planners. It is simply not acceptable that in areas of many of our great cities, postal workers and telephone engineers cannot go about their business without police protection!

But more repression - the Michael Howard solution - cannot be answer. There has to be a root and branch approach to the misery faced by millions. In 1979 the poorest 10% of the UK had only 4.1% of disposable income. By 1994, that miserly income had declined to a meagre 2.5%.

So I say to Tony Blair, if you tackle the causes of crime, by addressing the social evils of unemployment, low wages, poverty and deprivation, we’ll be with you all the way!

Our schools are in woeful condition, and our National Health Service - the great legacy from the post war Labour Government - needs a radical overhaul after the years of "expertise" from the Tory placepeople who were appointed to run the local hospitals.

We say to Tony Blair and the Labour Government, "We welcome your victory and wish you well. We will support you in every effort to undo the damage of 18 years."

We neither want nor need "special favours" - but we do insist upon a society based on the principles of equity and fairness. For too long the master/servant relationship has been tipped in the favour of the employers and not the real creators of wealth - the workers. We therefore look to this Labour Government as being the vehicle for progressive social change. We look forward to a legal framework for trade union recognition, and the implementation of a national minimum wage.

There is just one little message I'd like to give Tony. The Labour Party came from our class, is rooted in our class, and was born of the trade unions. We are not just going to walk away and pretend that it never happened. While we do not expect to dictate to government, we do expect to be seen and heard in the party into which we have put so much effort and loyalty over the years.

Meanwhile as trade unionists, we've got a job to do

- and to be more effective as a fighting organisation that can inspire, defend, protect and advance our members.

I certainly do not claim to have all the answers to the problems we face. But I do know that we are not alone in representing workers in industries that have become exposed to rapid globalisation, deregulation and accelerating technological change.

That chill wind has blown through North America ever since the Ronald Reagan era. But people will fight back. Michael Moore of TV Nation fame has had a surprising best selling book in the US - "Downsize This!" - a book which has struck a chord with millions of ordinary Americans who have been thrown out of work. Like the UK, their great transnational corporations have been stumbling about, uncaring of any social consequences, for their next fix of "downsizing", "rightsizing" and "business process re-engineering".

Having gone through a period of serious decline the US unions are now going through a revival - even the cover of Newsweek recently pointed out that it's almost sexy to wear a union badge again.

But it takes money, commitment and orientation. The US unions are now committed to spending 10% of their income on recruitment by sending in , not men in suits, but battle hardened activists to live with the workers, eat with the workers, drink with the workers - and to organise with the workers.

The US unions have also had to look beyond their own industries and immediate interests - they are increasingly becoming involved, and are helping to finance, local community campaigns for better health clinics, schools and facilities.

A current CWA campaign is against that symbol of childhood innocence - Disney. The fairy story Disney employing contractors in Thailand who exploit 13 and 14 year old children to sew Disney clothes.

Even in Los Angeles, at the end of the 20th Century, in the richest nation on Earth, a 12 year old girl was found working in a factory that makes Disney products.

They have to campaign in English, Spanish, and many other languages and dialects.

They have to take seriously the issues of racism and sexism in American society.

They have to unite - where others seek to divide.

We look forward to sharing their experiences and I especially wish to welcome Larry Cohen of the Communications Workers of America to our Conference. I know that he will be looking forward to meeting you, not just in here, but at the fringe meetings and pub discussions.

Between the CWA, our own CWU, and the Society of Telecom Executives, we have been trying to establish a new transatlantic alliance - a workers alliance based in the new Concert operation involving BT and MCI. With the likely involvement of Telefonica de España we will also be welcoming our comrades from the Spanish UGT and Workers Commissions. They have already been busy liaising with their counterparts in Telefonica's Latin American holdings. Whether we like it or not, the unions, and ours in particular must take on a real international agenda which will encourage and develop real international worker co-operation at every level - from the rank and file up to the Executive and the General Secretaries.

Looking back, we have had a pretty fraught year.

If I were a senior manager in Royal Mail, I would be rather concerned to set the scene for radical improvements in industrial and employee relations - and that can only be done jointly with the CWU and workers in Royal Mail. The events of the past year did not just spring out of the ether - they were the culmination of years of heavy handed management and, in many cases, downright bullying.

Our members in Royal Mail and all other parts of the Post Office are proud of their contribution to the most dynamic and effective postal system in the world. They want to be part of the best postal system in the world - and they want it to remain in public hands!

Within the telecommunications and financial sectors, we will continue to defend our members in the turbulent seas of liberalisation, globalisation and new technology. But we cannot do that solely in our existing companies - the strength of unionisation must be felt in all sections of telecomms, information technology and finance.

Which brings us to Critchley Labels. A company which ignores agreements, tears up contracts, unfairly dismisses workers, victimises people with disabilities, sacks workers who take legally balloted strike action and introduces hired scabs - that type of company does not deserve to exist.

You will hear more about this during Conference - but meanwhile I can hardly contain my pleasure at disclosing that during the period of the dispute, almost 40% of their share value has been wiped out.

Critchley Sacked Them - We back Them!

This will be a marathon, not a sprint. But as long as Critchley directors like John White treat their wealth producers like chattels in the market, we will pursue them. We will pursue Critchley, and their customers, and their investors. The world should know what these people have done.

Finally, to Conference. This is now our fourth, including the rules revision conference. It is the Parliament of the UK's communication workers. We will have differences of opinion, but we will debate our policies and principles with respect for each other, our branches and our industrial constituencies.

The growing pains should be over. This Conference will mark a new level of maturity, co-operation and CWU identity. This is best Union in the country - let's be proud of it and ourselves.