CWU Biannual Conference: Day One

May 11 2026

On the first day of the CWU’s conference in Bournemouth, delegates met in their hundreds to debate outsourcing, the dangers and potential of artificial intelligence, the rise of Reform and the need for solidarity against Trump and Netanyahu.

After an introduction and welcome by NEC president Mick Kavanagh, CWU General Secretary Dave Ward jumped into discussing the elections, saying that “Labour has completely and utterly misread the room.

“It is completely disconnected from working-class people.

Warning Keir Starmer that “if we are going to have a debate about real change, surely now is the time, he said that the situation “has got to be obvious for Labour.

“With such inequality in wealth and power existing in our country, it’s clear that if you haven’t got the courage right now to challenge the wealthy and the powerful, and redistribute wealth and power back to working people, then don’t stand up and say you can deliver real change.”

Artificial Intelligence: the ‘Nebulous Buzzword’

Delegates debated artificial intelligence (AI) and its social role with motions discussing confronting the growth of AI, the need to guarantee human accountability, and for greater public understanding about the situation.

Pointing out the murky origins of Palantir, which London Postal Engineering delegate Steve Jones called a ‘CIA-aligned organisation’, Steve warned that the growth of AI “threatens to create a situation where intelligence itself becomes a commodity, owned by the few.

“That is not even to say of the huge cognitive impact on human development, critical thinking, memory and cognitive capacities.

“This technology could make infectious or terminal diseases a thing of the past, but look at how it is being used instead.

“Under democratic workers’ control, AI could be the tool which sets us free.”

Responding in opposition, UTAW delegate Abigail Simmons called AI a “nebulous buzzword”.

“Our UTAW members work on it. They understand what underpins these tools, and they know how they can’t live up to the promise, no matter what time or regulation is thrown at them.

“AI cannot reason, it is not intelligent – it is smoke and mirrors bundled in with technology that has existed in some cases for decades.

Assistant Secretary James Samuels said the union is committing to “raising awareness” on AI.

Offshoring: A Coordinated Fight

Delegates passed a motion calling for a ‘national anti-offshoring strategy’ which involves campaigning across companies and unions – as well as government lobbying – to halt it whenever possible.

Delegate John McAlinden described the “real ways” that outsourcing changes communities.

“From Capita to BT, Royal Mail to Santander and the BBC, offshoring has become endemic.

“The guardrails that should exist to ensure that livelihoods, jobs and opportunities aren’t siphoned off aren’t there at the moment.

“This is why we need a campaign in place that goes beyond individual disputes.

“We want the union to launch a national conversation about offshoring that puts workers, the jobs they do, and the considerations of the community first.”

Glasgow district delegate and Capita branch rep Wilhelmus Mierlo said: “When outsourcing happens, stable communities are hit – and management know it.

“If they want contracts, the jobs should be kept here. No tricks, no loopholes, no additional plans.

“If a company wants to do offshoring without consultation, they must pay for the communities they leave behind and the jobs they destroy.”

“We are done with workers in Britain being treated as disposable – we need to defend the future of our communities.”

Deputy general secretary Karen Rose said that Britain is a “global outlier” in offshoring law.

“Our regulatory framework is so weak compared to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan – places that don’t accept offshoring unless it meets requirements surrounding redeployment, retraining and evidence that offshoring is the last resort.

“The force behind offshoring is simple – it’s about maximising profits with little regard for workers or the wider economy.

“It damages the economy, forces a decline in service quality, and creates regional inequalities.

“We need robust protections, mandatory union consultation, legal requirements on reskilling and redeployment.

“We need to commit to working towards meaningful action to protect workers and end offshoring.”

International Solidarity

An emergency motion heard by delegates attacked the United States and Israel for “unilaterally launching the war in Iran’, labelling Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s conflict as an “unnecessary and illegal conflict” which has “wreaked havoc’.

Attacking the “horrifying violations of international law” and atrocities such as the killing of 120 schoolchildren at the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, the motion called for the union to use its government influence to help bring about peace.

Moving the motion, CWU national president Andy Mercer said that “silence is not an option.

“The far-right Netanyahu government and the Trump administration have recklessly endangered the people of Iran, Palestine and Lebanon, but it also hits us here.

“Because of their unilateral actions, the cost of living is going up, fuel prices are rising, and our members are being made to pay the price.

“There are real material consequences for working people everywhere.

“As trade unionists, we can’t stand aside. Our movement has been built on the simple and powerful principle that an injury to one is an injury to all.

“Silence is not an option. We stand with the innocent victims of this war, and want to send a clear message that this union will always stand for justice and peace for workers in everywhere.”

Developing Anti-Racist Strategy

Delegates robustly discussed the growth of Reform UK, Tommy Robinson and the sense of how these politics are gaining traction in workplaces.

A motion that urged the union to provide greater assistance to protests organised by Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) and the Together Alliance was rejected by delegates.

Supporting the motion, south central divisional representative Paul Garraway described how grateful local people were to see SUTR activists opposing Reform rallies, as well as counter-protesters opposing demonstrations against migrant centres.

“We need a united front to not cede the streets to the fascists, and we need people turning out as much as possible.

“The Together Alliance demonstration proved that there’s much more of us than them, and we need to build that.”

Opposing the motion, UTAW delegate Deji Olayinka described an anti-Reform demonstration in Croydon he attended where there were more black people queuing to see Reform than on the SUTR side.

“Looking at that crowd, and how we were just chanting ‘racist scum’, it was clear there was nothing to convince these people, to bring these people over to our side.

“The unions should lead a united anti-racist movement that sees us protest against Reform while talking about saving our NHS from Farage’s funders, and calling for jobs, not racism.

“That’s how we start winning people back – and if liberal councillors don’t want to join us in demanding better, then so be it.”

Opposing that motion, general secretary Dave Ward warned delegates that “we cannot outsource our anti-racist agenda.

“Opposing this motion isn’t about abandoning the anti-racist fight – we’ve got to bring people together, and stand up for people, against racism, fascism, all of these evils.

“We’ve got to link these ideas to other ideals and agendas that stand up for working people.

“But the current strategy of organisations like Stand Up to Racism is simply not working. It is alienating working-class people.

“If we think that this is the way forward, then we aren’t facing up to what is going on in the elections the other day.

“Thousands and thousands of people who voted Reform in last week’s elections aren’t racists, they are people desperate for change in their lives.

“We aren’t taking things seriously if that’s all we repeat.

“This debate has got to move from shouting at people that they’re racists. It isn’t working, and I think if we’re honest we all know that.”

Speaking on a successful motion calling for the CWU to develop a Reform awareness-raising programme, NEC member Michelle Bailey said people need to be told clearly that Reform is an “anti-worker, anti-union, anti-public service” organisation.

“We have to be serious in addressing Reform’s real agenda, and this means equipping members with the facts, and arming people with the truth about what they really believe.”

Some delegates disagreed, including UTAW delegate Essi Karjalainen, who said that “collective struggle is what we need.

“When Reform and Green voters stand on a picket line, they’ll find they’ve got a lot more in common with each other than they have with Nigel Farage or Zack Polanski.”

Delegates also heard from Hope Not Hate campaigner Matthew Collins, who described his harrowing experiences from being an active National Front footsoldier to becoming a committed anti-fascist – as well as how he felt being portrayed by Stephen Graham in The Walk In, which dramatised Collins’ work undermining the neo-Nazi network National Action.

Other Motions

Other motions included debates over developing a new deal for pensioners, justice for endometriosis sufferers, and heard a short but sweet set from folk-punk singer Billy Bragg and a moving discussion from the mental health campaigner and published author Andrew Voyce.