New model of public ownership needed

Union Matters June 1 2018

“A new model of public ownership” is being developed by the leadership of our union for both the postal and telecoms industries, which will “include democratic control” following a wide-ranging debate on the subject during Annual Conference in April.

The motion, which was moved by Greater London Combined (GLC) and Coventry branches, with the support of the union’s London Regional Committee, won the full support of delegates following an impassioned appeal from GLC’s Maria Exall.

“In the UK telecoms industry, we need proper long-term investment and rational planning,” she said, adding: “We need democratic control so the voices of workers and of the public are listened to.”

Democratic public ownership is “the new common sense,” she argued and called on the union’s leadership to seek this commitment in the next Labour manifesto.

London regional secretary Ian Murphy seconded the proposition, predicted that public opinion would be in favour of the policy, noting that there had been a “real shift” in how people viewed privatisation in recent years.

Coventry’s Judy Griffiths, meanwhile, pointed to the opportunity that public ownership would provide in terms of using the profitable parts of the operation to fund other activities and to finance development of new products and services.

“Post Office Telephones was developed with the support of the surplus that was made by Royal Mail,” she observed. “The surplus was used to build a benefit for society and not to fill the pockets of the owners, because society actually were the owners.”

Most of the discussion focused on Royal Mail and BT, but Bootle Financial Services delegate Dan Lewis urged his fellow delegates and the CWU leadership to include the financial services sector in this debate as well.

 

Speaking for the motion on behalf of the NEC, general secretary Dave Ward said that the Labour Party leadership, with serious input from the CWU, is “doing some new thinking on this.”

 

“I’ve been really encouraged by that work – and our union wants to move forward on it,” Dave concluded.