CWU at UNI Post & Logistics World Conference
8th September 2011
Over 200 postal union
leaders from all over the world have converged at the third UNI
Post and Logistics Global Union Conference in Washington DC, USA to
discuss the future of the postal industry. Led by general secretary
Billy Hayes, the CWU's delegation includes president Jane
Loftus; head of international affairs, John Baldwin; national
executive council member Lesley McLean midlands regional secretary
Lee Barron and women's advisory committee member Vera
Kelsey.
As a forum to discuss the challenges facing the postal sectors, the conference opened with a session on innovation. Philip Jennings, general secretary of UNI, spoke on innovation as the key to success of postal services battling against the online and electronic mail phenomenon arguing: "There must be space in these two worlds from which these postal services can benefit." It is his belief that it is the responsibility of the unions to seize these new opportunities, get organised and strengthen the voice of unions and the workforce.
Presenting the UK experience
of innovative new postal services, CWU's head of international
affairs, John Baldwin, concentrated on timed
deliveries - a concept which has yet to be widely embraced in other
postal administrations around the world.
Addressing another major theme of the conference, CWU general
secretary Billy Hayes (pictured centre with the
CWU delegation and other conference delegates), spoke at length on
privatisation and liberalisation. Sharing details
of the CWU's extensive
campaign against the privatisation of Royal Mail including
legislative concessions gained, lobbying inside and out of
parliament and country-wide demonstrations he concluded by saying:
"All we know is that if you fight you get a better result than
if you give up."
The conference continues until the end of the week with debates on strategies to ensure a strong and prosperous future for postal workers and the industry.
Read Billy's speech in full on his blog and follow him on Twitter @BillyHayes_CWU for live updates from the conference. For more information on the conference debates and discussion visit UNI Global.
Browse through photo's of the CWU delegation at the conference:
