LTB 465/20 – Election of CWU National Representatives Positions – CWU Young Workers Committee
No. 465/20
24th September 2020
Dear Colleague,
ELECTION OF CWU NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES POSITIONS
- CWU Young Workers Committee
The above elections were scheduled to take place during May/June 2020 however as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of CWU HQ it was not possible to conduct these elections in the usual way.
Following discussions between the GS Department, SDGS department and the National President and Vice President a document was placed before the September 2020 NEC which once agreed now allows the union to conduct the elections for the Young Workers Committee albeit with revised and specifically designed election arrangements.
Clearly the democratic principles of the CWU are founded on our ability to ensure that the elections are conducted in a fair and equitable way and specifically that members of the union, via their own branch nomination, are given the opportunity to put themselves forward as a candidate. These guiding principles have been included in the revised arrangements a summary of which is set out below in advance of the election process.
Election Timetable
It is necessary for the election timetable to be significantly longer than normal to allow branches sufficient time to seek nominations from their members and to then subsequently agree on which candidates(s) they intend to nominate for election and, once the list of candidates is known to then decide which candidate(s) will receive the branch vote.
Nomination Process
In respect of seeking nominations branches will need to put in place a robust system and use all reasonable methods at their disposal to publish suitable notification throughout the branch area giving members the opportunity to submit their name for nomination to the position should they choose to do so. Following this the branch would need to put in place arrangements to hold a membership meeting to decide which candidate(s) will receive the branch nomination.
On the basis that no face to face member meetings are currently allowed then this would need to be conducted via a suitable video conference platform such as Zoom or Skype, etc. that provides the opportunity for large numbers of members to take part if required.
Additionally branches will need to allow for members who do not have video conference capability to join the meeting by phone again if they choose to do so.
The timeline for the meeting would need to be agreed in advance and notification provided to members at least 7 days prior to the meeting taking place.
Dispatch and Return of Nomination Forms to CWU HQ
Nomination forms will be sent to branches electronically via an LTB and it will be our intention to set up a specific dedicated election email address where branches should return completed nomination forms to.
Nomination Forms will need to be returned by the advertised closing date to be included in the list of candidates.
The revised system will avoid the necessity to return forms in the post system which of course may be subject to delay during the current Covid-19 crisis.
Dispatch and Return of Voting Papers
The respective constituency based voting papers will be sent by email direct to branches at the email address which we hold on file. Branches should return the completed voting papers by email to the advertised CWU election email address. Notification will be sent to branches confirming receipt of the voting paper, however it will the responsibility of the branch to ensure that voting papers are returned to the correct email address.
To be included in the ballot voting papers will need to have been returned by the advertised closing date and time.
Branch Voting Recommendations
Clearly we are in unique and challenging times and whilst branches would normally arrange mandating meetings to decide which candidates to vote for in the respective elections we do not believe that this is either practical or necessary during the current crisis. Therefore, on this occasion this decision can be made by the Branch Committee and the decision subsequently notified to members of their branch accordingly.
Election Timetable and Term of Office
The election timetable for the above will be as follows:
Nominations Open: 1 October 2020
Nominations Close: 31 October 2020
Ballot opens: 7 November 2020
Ballot closes: 28 November 2020
The term of Office for the above positions will commence from 1st January 2021 for a period of 2 years.
Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 020 8971 7237, or email address sdgs@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary