From the picket line

Striking workers at the Bromley-by Bow Mail Centre were in good spirits when I joined them on the picket line last Friday [10th July 2009]. The Branch reported a 100% strike rate amongst its members. The strikes which were taking place all over London were by all accounts very solid and a serious signal was again given to Royal Mail that the CWU members will not be brushed aside when it comes to the latest dispute.

It was an honour to travel the 12 miles or so from our headquarters and go down to Bromley-by-Bow and offer support to our striking members. It was great to see people’s spirits so high and Royal Mail will be in no doubt about the fight they have on their hands on this dispute.

TUC LGBT conference pics

A couple of weeks ago i led our delegation to the TUC LGBT conference in London where all our delegates played a full part in promoting CWU policies. The day before we'd heard that the Indian courts had judged that anti gay laws were illegal. Readers will recall that we handed in a letter of protest to the Indian embassy a few weeks ago. It's nice to think that we can influence policy in another country.

I'm on CWU TV

The latest production from CWU TV is now on the union website at .http://www.cwu.org/ It contains a series of features of interest to memebrs. Spool forward to 11 minutes to watch my brief contribution.

Holidays of a lifetime at BT?

This mornings BBC news reported that BT are offering staff who agree to take a year off a quarter of their salary. Additionally parents can take unpaid leave during school holidays and a thousand pounds will be paid to employees who transfer from full to part time work. The "Time Out Options" project takes place against the background of the economic slowdown, first quarter losses of £1.3 billion and plans for a further round of 15000 job cuts over the next 12 months. I'm sure our negotiators will respond in due course.

More London postal strikes next week - support your union

Members working in distribution, deliveries and mail centres in London embark on a rolling series of 24 hour strikes next Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - July 8th to 10th. This second series of strikes is only occurring because Royal Mail management are introducing unagreed changes to terms and conditions of employment which will result in job losses. The Union have offered to impose a moratorium on industrial action and sit down and discuss the modernisation of the business and how to deal with the challenges we all face but management are not listening. Why not? Please support your union. If you are not directly involved send messages of support.

Mail privatisation will not proceed - for now

Peter Mandelson has announced that the proposed part privatisation of Royal Mail has been postponed. He blames the state of the economy which has resulted in only one expression of interest being received. This is a victory for our union and the 149 MP's who signed our early day motion.

Gay sex ban in India dropped

Last month Members of the LGBT committee and I handed in a letter at the Indian embassy complaining about the persecution of gays in that country. The Financial Times reports today that:
"The New Delhi high court on Thursday ruled that the ban on consensual same-sex acts between adults – under a British colonial-era law introduced in 1860 – was in violation of India’s constitution.
The landmark decision on civil rights thrilled India’s gay community, which has long complained that homosexuals in the country are treated as second-class citizens and easily subjected to police harassment because of the law. But it is likely to incense many religious organisations in the country.
The verdict was made in response to a court case filed by Naz Foundation India, an organisation that promotes safe sex practices between men, challenging article 377 of the Indian Penal Code on the grounds that it violates India’s liberal, democratic post-independence constitution."
I welcome this development but understand that there may be an appeal. Full story at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/536e179a-66d2-11de-925f-00144feabdc0.html