CWU conference starts Sunday 22nd April
19th April 2012
The largest trade union for the communications sector - with over 200,000 members in Royal Mail, the Post Office, BT, Openreach, O2, Santander and other telecoms, mobile, post and financial services companies - opens its annual conference on Sunday 22nd April. Up to a thousand delegates and visitors will attend the event in Bournemouth.
An emergency motion opposing Royal Mail privatisation will be the first business heard at General Conference on Sunday afternoon. Motions condemning cuts to employment rights and health and safety, as well as the use of medical assessment companies like ATOS and government slave labour schemes will be debated on Sunday afternoon. Political issues, including Labour Party democracy and funding will be voted on by hundreds of delegates on Monday afternoon during the annual conference before delegates split into industrial conferences on Tuesday.
Key speaker sessions include the following:
Sunday 14:00 - Jane Loftus,
CWU president, address to conference
Sunday afternoon - Johann Lamont
MSP and new Scottish Labour leader
Monday 9:10 - Tony Kearns, senior deputy general
secretary, address to conference
Monday 12:40 - George
Vasillopoulos, Greek postal worker
Monday lunchtime - Owen Jones,
author of Chavs, fringe meeting and book-signing
Monday 15:10 - Billy
Hayes, general secretary, address to conference
Tuesday 9:25 - Andy Kerr, deputy
general secretary, address to Telecoms and Financial Services
conference
Tuesday 9:40 - Dave Ward, deputy
general secretary, address to Postal conference
Wednesday 9:30 - Moya Greene,
Royal Mail Chief Executive (Postal conference)
Thursday 9am - Bill Murphy, BT
(Telecoms conference)
CWU conference is being held at the Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH, from Sunday 22nd April to Thursday 26th April. The business divides into Rules, General and Industrial conferences on the following dates:
22nd April (9am): Rules conference
22nd (2pm) and 23rd April: General Conference
24th - 26th April: Postal Constituencies
Conference
Telecoms and Financial Services Conference
The main media contacts for the week are:
- Kevin Slocombe, Head of Communications: kslocombe@cwu.org 07714 504413
- Sian Jones, Press Officer: sbjones@cwu.org 07793 314249
You can follow conference events on our dedicated Twitter feed: @cwuconference
Full details of conference, including all agendas and emergency motions, are available here: www.cwu.org/11595/conference.html
A list of fringe meetings and social events is available here: http://www.cwu.org/what-s-on.html
