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Communications Workers News Archive
January - October1999

Communications Workers News - the current edition

Communications Workers News Archive 1995 - 98

Communications Workers News Archive October - December 1999
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  1. Free call scam hits Cellnet, BBC, 1 October 1999
  2. South African Unions fear major Telkom retrenchments, Financial Times (South Africa), 30/09/99
  3. CIA invests in Silicon Valley - The US spy agency is to invest $28m in a venture capital firm based in California to keep abreast of the latest Internet technology. BBC 30/09/99
  4. Motorola rings up 1,000 jobs in Scotland, BBC, 30/09/99
  5. Byers compromises on Post Office - Trade Secretary Stephen Byers has moved to ease union fears over the level of the Post Office's monopoly which he says will be set by the industry's new regulator. BBC
  6. Phone giant Bell Atlantic in long-distance bid, BBC, 29/09/99
  7. Call centres' Internet threat - As a new call centre opens on the site of a former microchip factory, some analysts argue that despite the boom in the industry, the future of call centres is uncertain. BBC, 27/09/99
  8. Scotland Office Minister Brian Wilson calls for proper union rights for soccer players. BBC, 25/09/99
  9. The UK government is to defy criticism from a select committee of MPs and from its own party to press ahead with cutting the Post Office's monopoly. The Times, 23/09/99
  10. BT forced Securicor to sell its stake in Cellnet by threatening not to apply for a third generation mobile phone licence. BBC, 23/09/99
  11. Gov't defends plans to cut UK Post Office monopoly Industry Minister and onetime postman Alan Johnson hit back at claims that cutting the Post Office monopoly might threaten its ability to provide a nationwide postal service. Reuters, 22/09/99
  12. PARLIAMENTARY SUPPORT FOR UNION POSITION ON POST OFFICE MONOPOLY, a CWU link, 21/09/99
  13. Funeral of two Brazilian trade union leaders shot dead in Rio de Janeiro. BBC, 21/09/99
  14. Vodafone AirTouch and Bell Atlantic are to merge their US mobile phone operations, creating a new business worth $70bn. BBC, 21/09/99
  15. BT are to review a decision not to take Welsh language pager messages following protests by Welsh speakers. BBC, 20/09/99
  16. BT and AT&T have announced plans for an alliance that could lead to customers being able to use mobile phones anywhere in the world. BBC 19/09/99
  17. Scottish Power is to float its telecoms and Internet operations, which includes Demon Internet and Scottish Telecom. BBC, 17/09/99
  18. BBC, Vodafone connects to Net - The UK mobile phone network has launched a Web portal and Internet service provision in time for the new generation of micro-browsers and services. 17/09/99
  19. Pinochet's intelligence service chief to stand trial for murder. BBC, 15/09/99
  20. CWU General Secretary Derek Hodgson's appeal to last week's TUC Conference for a Post Office that is publicly owned and retains its limited postal monopoly earned unanimous backing from delegates. A CWU link
  21. Racal Electronics is in talks about selling its telecoms division to Energis in a deal which could be worth £800m. BBC, 13/09/99
  22. The TUC General Secretary, John Monks, sets out a millennium challenge for unions to raise their membership by a million over the next five years. BBC, 13/09/99
  23. TUC membership has been in continuous decline as the economy needs fewer manual workers, but may have begun to stabilise. BBC, 13/09/99
  24. 15 TRUCK CONVOY - 'ENVOYS FOR THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT' - LEAVES ON BULGARIAN MERCY MISSION. While the union top brass take centre stage at the TUC Conference in Brighton next Monday morning, convoy organised by trade unionists from the CWU will slip away quietly from a port-side in Hull, bound for Bulgarian orphanages. A CWU link
  25. Vodafone and Bell Atlantic discuss US link-up, BBC, Monday, September 6, 1999
  26. Scotland: Phone firms ring up £42m deal, BBC 6 September
  27. TUC calls for minimum wage rise, BBC 6 September
  28. REJECTION FOR POST OFFICE 'PEACE PACKAGE'. CWU members working for Royal Mail have narrowly rejected a pay and conditions offer which both the business and the national union had hailed as 'the key to future'. A CWU link, 1 September
  29. They're watching you Big Brother's got his eye on you, and he's likely to be your employer. Martin Bright reports on a Britain where everyone is a suspect. Forty-nine workers at a Cable & Wireless call centre in Brighton - 10 per cent of the workforce - were called in to meetings with managers last month and told they were in big trouble. Observer
  30. Telewest Communications buys up cable-television company NTL's 50% share of Cable London, BBC 27/08/99
  31. Survey shows TELSTRA employees recognise union won benefits, CPSU of Australia, 23 August
  32. Oftel guidance enshrines the right for employees to make personal telephone calls at work without them being spied on by employers, PR Newswire, 20/8/99
  33. New rights for UK cable and telecom workers - CWU, 19 August
  34. Boom-time for call centres, BBC, 18/08/99
  35. BT's Cellnet buy faces challenge - BBC, 18 August
  36. Orange to create 2000jobs - BBC, 18 August
  37. Cable firm offers two-way TV - BBC, 12 August
  38. Turkish union chief killed BBC, - BBC,7 August
  39. One 2 One sale agreed. Cable & Wireless and the US group, MediaOne, have agreed to sell the mobile phone operator, One 2 One, to Deutsche Telekom in a deal worth £8.4bn. BBC 6 August
  40. Fifth UK mobile operator blocked, BBC, 6 August
  41. Telewest high-speed Internet plan, BBC 5 August
  42. UK broadband race hots up, BBC 5 August
  43. Orange subscribers soar, BBC 4 August
    Mobile phone price war, BBC 2 August
  44. ADSL means Broadband UK, BBC, 30 July
  45. BT Speeds up Internet, BBC 29 July
  46. UNION POSTS PROFITS WARNING ON CONTROVERSIAL CRITCHLEY, CWU, 28 July 1999
  47. BT takes over Cellnet, BBC 27 July
    NTL acquisition of CWC ConsumerCo
  48. NTL's proposed takeover of CWC cable operations, CWU 29 July
  49. BBC 26 July
  50. Cable & Wireless, full announcement, 26 July
  51. Cable & Wireless, summary, 26 July
  52. NTL announcement, 26 July
  53. UK Cable firms in exclusive talks, BBC 19 July
  54. Doubts over 1,000 new call centre jobs in south Wales, BBC 16 July
  55. Communications International and FIET call International Organising Day for Call Centres - action on 4 November 1999, a CI Link
  56. Free PC offer for telecoms customers, BBC 16 July
  57. Firms face huge RSI payouts, BBC 16 July
  58. The UK cable industry faces further consolidation as NTL and France Telecom prepare an £8bn bid for Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), BBC 16 July
  59. Internet Payphones to go Online, BBC 15 July
  60. Last bidders pull out of One-2-One auction, BBC 14 July
  61. UK cable heads for mega-merger. Surprise deal to unite Cable & Wireless and NTL. Telewest faces pressure to join one industry 'super-power'. The Observer 11 July

    The Future of the Post Office

    Briefing on the Post Office White Paper - Derek Hodgson, CWU General Secretary [5 July 1999]

    "For three years, we have published and promoted a radical reform package for the Post Office, much of which is to be reflected in the White Paper - but we cannot stand silent if the Government announces that it intends to push ahead now with plc status and a reduced monopoly."



  62. GOVERNMENT ISSUES WHITE PAPER ON FUTURE OF POST OFFICE - CWU REACTS
  63. Post Office to be a plc with government owning all the shares in £600m shake-up. Greater commercial freedom but privatisation ruled out. "Derek Hodgson, general secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, said he was extremely happy that the service was remaining in the public sector, but was concerned about the effect of cutting the monopoly." Guardian 9 July
  64. PO plans 'not stealth privatisation' - The government unveils its proposals for the future of the Post Office, but assures MPs they do not include privatisation by stealth. BBC 8 July
  65. Last post for old-fashioned carriers - Delivering mail is just one role of Europe's fast-growing new breed of postal giants. BBC 8 July
  66. Worked up over time limits - Rules limiting the working week to 48 hours will be relaxed, the government announces - but unions are angry.BBC 8 July
  67. Windfalls as Telecom Eireann shares soar - Huge windfalls are likely for one in four adults in Ireland as Telecom Eireann shares soar on their first day of trading. BBC 8 July
  68. Closing in on One-2-One - Germany's Mannesmann and France Telecom are reported to be the frontrunners in the battle over UK mobile phone operator One-2-One. BBC 7 July
  69. FT Telecoms Quarterly Review, Financial Times, 6 July
  70. Irish Eyes on Windfall (Telecom Eireann privatisation), BBC, 5 July
  71. Chad telecommunications workers end strike, Reuters 3 July
  72. Britain mad about mobiles, BBC 2 July 1999
  73. AT&T, BT Pact Clears U.S. Hurdle, Reuters 30 June
  74. HISTORIC BREAKTHROUGH IN UK'S LONGEST STRIKE CWU General Secretary Derek Hodgson said: 'This is great news for our members who can now get on with the rest of their lives. But Critchley, and those who seek to imitate them, must understand that our fire-power remains concentrated on this renegade relic of workhouse culture.' CWU 24 June
  75. Cable and Wireless Communications has confirmed it is bringing 1,200 new jobs to Swansea in south west Wales. BBC 23 June
  76. Qwest Takeover of US West Would Further Undermine Phone Service, Slash Jobs and Investment, CWA 21 June
  77. Phone Privatisation in Ireland, BBC 15 June 1999
  78. Cable mega-merger on the cards - speculation in the telecommunications sector is set to be rekindled after reports that the UK's three biggest cable companies are plotting a multi-billion pound merger. BBC 14 June
  79. Telecoms groups line-up for One-2-One - Four European telecoms groups are each hoping to win a takeover battle for UK mobile phone operator One-2-One in bids valuing the operation at up to £10bn. BBC9 June
  80. Cable & Wireless triumphs in Japan BBC 9 June
  81. Virgin targets mobile phones -Virgin Group is reported to be planning to enter the UK mobile phone market in a joint venture with One2One. BBC, 7 June
  82. New technology makes work harder! "New office technology is becoming a hindrance to work, rather than a help" - BBC, 1 June 1999
  83. Unions After the Gold Rush By Noel Hester - ASU Services Branch Media Officer. Call centres are the boom industry and governments everywhere are touting them as major job creators - particularly in regional areas. LaborNet Australia
  84. The Call of the Wild. We meet a union organiser who's taking the union message into the call centres. LaborNet Australia
  85. More US telecoms merger mania. Ambitious telecoms newcomer Global Crossing and major local phone company US West are to merge creating a company valued at $75bn. BBC 17 May
  86. Bell Canada workers end five-week strike Reuters 15 May
  87. Ireland swept by share fever - Nearly one in every three adults in Ireland has registered to buy shares in the state phone company sell-off next month. BBC 14 May
  88. C&W in Microsoft cable talks BBC 12 May
  89. Free E-Mail and Internet service for CWU members
  90. Tentative deal reached in Bell Canada strike Calgary Herald 11 May
  91. Teleworking: BT tells workers to stay at home BBC 11May
  92. One 2 One for all - A bidding war is looming for One 2 One, the UK mobile phones group. BBC 10 May
  93. Bell strike delaying phones in election, campaign offices, London Free Press 9 May
  94. Digital television wars - The battle for control of the future of television is hotting up with the the UK's leading media moguls fighting each other tooth and nail. BBC 7 May
  95. Microsoft expands its empire - Microsoft invests billions in US communications giant AT&T and takes a major stake in the UK cable industry in a bid to remain at the forefront of the Internet revolution. BBC 6 May
  96. Cincinnati Bell gets ready for strike - Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 May
  97. Japanese phone battle hots up - UK telecoms group Cable & Wireless raises the stakes in its bid to grab a larger share of the Japan's phone industry. BBC 6 May
  98. Union leaders charged with protesting illegally as Guyanese strike - Postal workers on strike, AP 5 May
  99. Words into action: delegates join Bell strikers - More than 2,000 convention delegates joined 700 Bell Canada operators and technicians at a noon rally. CLC 5 May
  100. Cable group creates 2,000 jobs - Cable & Wireless Communications, the UK cable operator, is creating 2,000 jobs as part of its plans to launch a digital television service. BBC 5 May
  101. Telekom on prowl again - Deutsche Telekom says it is confident the merger with Telecom Italia will go ahead and outlines plans to issue new shares to raise a war chest for three further European acquisitions. BBC 5 May
  102. Comcast concedes defeat - US cable company MediaOne has accepted a $56bn (£35bn) takeover bid from US telephone giant AT&T, terminating its previous agreement to merge with cable rival Comcast. BBC 5 May
  103. Irish government sells off state telecom company WSWS 3-May-99
  104. Bell and strikers to resume talks, Vancouver Sun, 3 May 1999
  105. More uncertainty for UK cable workers The UK's Telecom and Cable wars have once again hotted up - creating even more uncertainty for employees. A CWU link, April
  106. C&W in £550m sale Cable & Wireless has sold its cable-laying operations to US company Global Crossing in a deal that continues the consolidation of the telecoms industry. BBC 26 April
  107. Korea phone strike off, union unrest simmers, Yahoo UK 26-Apr-99
  108. AT&T and BT buy into Japan Telecom, BBC 25 April
  109. Free Internet access for CWU members
  110. Cable wars intensify, BBC 23 April
  111. Top talks on telecoms merger, BBC 23 April
  112. Telecoms are go, BBC 22 April
  113. Korea Telecom workers threaten to strike, Korea Herald, 21 April
  114. Nigerian post, telecoms workers threaten to join strikes, AFP 21 April
  115. NTL drops Newcastle bid , BBC 21 April
  116. Puerto Rican Leader Brings Pledge of Solidarity, CWA
  117. Go-ahead for $200bn telecom merger , BBC 19 April
  118. Telecom Workers join Seoul Subway Workers Strike in the KCTU General Campaign - KCTU, 19 April
  119. The Chile Committee for Justice
  120. Why Pinochet Should Not Go Free!
  121. The Activist Within - The Actor Danny Glover Gives $1 Million To TransAfrica Forum - Washington Post 20 April
    Glover's years at San Francisco State helped solidify the politics he got at the dinner table at home with his postal-worker parents who were trying to unionize.
  122. Going to work can damage your hearing, TUC link
  123. RNID Noise at Work campaign, RNID link
  124. Italian, German Leaders Discuss Telecom Merger - a European Telecom Giant? Reuters 18 April
  125. Fears for 2,000 jobs in sorting office revamp at Mount Pleasant - Associated Newspapers 16 April
  126. Zimbabwe postal and telecom strike ends as pay to rise 50 pct, Reuters 15 April
  127. ZIMBABWE: Post & Telecom workers win 30 percent salary hike, Financial Gazette 15 April
  128. Postal workers protest ,New Zealand news from The Press - April 14, 1999
  129. Zimbabwean Telecom Workers' Strike Disrupts, HARARE (April 14) XINHUA
  130. International Postal Worker News
  131. Zimbabwe Post & Telecom Workers on Strike, Communications International, 14 April 1999
  132. Zimbabwe postal workers strike over pay claim, Reuters 13 April
  133. Moroccan post, telecoms workers start 72-hour strike, Reuters 13 April
  134. URGENT ACTION - BELL CANADA WORKERS ON STRIKE, Communications International, 14 April
  135. UNIONS DEVELOP ACTION PLAN FOR GLOBALISATION IN THE POSTAL & DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY - Communications International, 12 April
  136. UK Posties' spray keeps dogs at bay, BBC 11 April
  137. Bell Canada workers on legal strike, Communications International, 9 April
  138. Canada Phone Workers Strike For Wages, Job Security, Reuters, 10 April 1999
  139. Bell Canada: Operators and Technicians on Strike, a CEPU link, 9 April
  140. Moroccan post, telecoms union plans 72-hour strike - Reuters, 9 April
  141. Walkouts start at telephone company Bell Canada - Reuters, 8 April
  142. DON'T TRUST MCI/WORLDCOM - Communications International, 7April
  143. UK's CWC says in talks with Telewest,Reuters 6 April
  144. Cable & Wireless Communications plc and Telewest Communications plc Issue Joint Announcement, 6 April
  145. In My Opinion: Future of Telecommunications Is Being Shaped Today by By Morton Bahr, President, Communications Workers of America
  146. Canada: PUBLIC BROADCASTING WORKERS TAKE ACTION
  147. EL DIA 26 DE MARZO - TODOS A LA HUELGA - TODOS A MADRID
    TELEFONICA: SPANISH WORKERS TO STRIKE MARCH 26
  148. Telecommunications Merger Policy - The Double Standard Hurts Workers and Consumers, Communications Workers of America
  149. Telecom New Zealand Refuses to Negotiate! - a Communications International link, March 1999
    OTHER RELATED INFORMATION
  150. TELECOM NZ DISPUTE FACT SHEET March 1999
  151. TELECOM NEW ZEALAND - An overview March 1999
  152. THE TELECOM NEW ZEALAND STORY "Take the Money and Run" March 1998
    An account by CI Assistant Neil Anderson of Ameritech's involvement in Telecom New Zealand prior to its departure from the company with massive profits.

  153. How To Foil The Keystroke Cops - Australian Unions are campaigning against the introduction of the spread of real time monitoring of workers' keystroke rates in the finance sector (Labor Council of NSW), 12 March
  154. Stop Violence!. The Communications International is launching a world-wide "stop violence" campaign on International Women's Day on 8 March 1999.
  155. TEXAS: HELENA LABORATORIES DISPUTE CONTINUES For more than two months now workers at the Beaumont, Texas, plant of the medical equipment company, Helena Laboratories, have been on strike in an attempt to gain a contract which includes a decent living wage - a CI link
  156. Call Bell. Raise Hell! - appeal for solidarity by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada
  157. Yahoo's coverage of the Bell Canada Strike
  158. Unions fight as Bell Canada tries to sell off operator services - a Communications International link
  159. Hong Kong fury. Hong Kong trade unionists who visited the UK have protested to Cable and Wireless in London about a unilateral 10 per cent wage cut. A CWU link.
  160. SHOT: Shareholders of Telstra - Australian telecom workers protest!
  161. REQUEST FOR ACTION: EU Postal Directive - Communications International, 17 February
  162. Critchley 2 years on, CWU March 1999
  163. Union chief calls for BT to end contract with "unethical" Critchley Labels CWU, 11 February 1999
  164. Industrial action - high-tech style - BBC, 5 February 1999
  165. WANTED: Electronic Pickets - CWU,1 February 1999
  166. For a full list of Critchley websites, e-mail addresses, fax and phone numbers, click http://www.critchleygroup.com/trading.html
  167. PICKETS OLD - AND NEW - TO HIT CRITCHLEY AS STRIKE REACHES SECOND ANNIVERSARY - CWU 26 January 1999
  168. Western Sahara Update - with updated links for the latest news about the crisis
  169. 999 breakdown shows it pays to listen to CWU - CWU Voice February 1999
  170. Spreading the word at Telewest - CWU
  171. Energis telecoms group enters the big league BBC 22 January
  172. Norway's and Sweden's telecom companies announce merger BBC 20 January 1999
  173. Vodafone - Mammoth mobile merger BBC 18 January 1999
  175. Freeserve rocks UK Net industry, BBC 15 January
  176. Communications Workers and Cisco Systems Announce High-Tech Training Partnership, CWA 12 January 1999
  177. UNION GREETS POST OFFICE ACQUISITION AS A COMMITMENT TO EXPANSION AND GROWTH, CWU 11January 1999
  178. Telecoms industry in merger mania , BBC 8 January 1999

  179. The Critchley Labels Dispute: what is a "techno-strike"?

  180. Marketing Trade Unions - a Manual by Allen Pascoe
  181. What are Interest-Based Negotiations? New Zealand trade unionist Allen Pascoe explains what they are and why we should be interested in them.
  182. Monopoly and Competition in British Telecommunications by John Harper. The former Director of BT's Inland Division defends the record of publicly owned telecommunications. Reproduced with permission from his recent book.
  183. "Return of the Job Killers" - and we thought we knew the meaning of 'convergence'.... (published in May/June, 1996, Scottish Trade Union Review )
  184. "Communications, Computing and Broadcasting" - Digits and Jobs: a severe case of compression (published March/April, 1996, Trade Union News)
  185. "Organising on The Internet!" - threats and challenges facing telecommunications workers, and some new(?) organising ideas (published in February/March, 1996, Focus - magazine of the Communications Workers Union )
  186. "Wired, Weird and Wonderful - Thomas Paine and the Internet" - some thoughts following an article in WIRED magazine (published in Focus, (CWU) and Scottish Trade Union Review, 1995)
    Hotlinks to articles on Donald MacDonald's Personal Home Page
  187. Mountaineering articles, with climbing hotlinks
  188. Abdullah Ibrahim in Glasgow - comments based on a performance by the great South African musician (with hotlinks to other Abdullah Ibrahim and jazz sites)
  189. About This Site
  190. CWU Branch and Activists Sites
  191. The Telecom Archive of Articles and News Reports, 1995-98
  192. Useful Articles
  193. Western Sahara Update
  194. Useful Multimedia Links Page - now 700 links!
  195. Back to the Homepage
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