CWU Four Pillars of Security Campaign – Communication Material
In support of the union’s critical campaign to secure Four Pillars of Security, I am writing to Branches with details of our wider communication strategy and to highlight forthcoming campaign material for the widest possible circulation through Branches.
Campaign Video
A video of the DGS(P) has now been circulated setting out the union’s key messages around the Four Pillars of Security campaign. Branches and Representatives can access the video either through the CWU website or by clicking on the link below. Please note that you do not need to have a Facebook account to watch videos produced by the CWU. Simply click on the link below and the video will open in your computer browser:
https://www.facebook.com/ThecommunicationsUnion/videos/1408820039197471/
Leaflets and Posters
Next week Branches will receive copies of an A5 leaflet (summarising the CWU’s key arguments) for distribution to all members in all units. In addition, Branches will be sent A3 posters for circulation and display in as many Royal Mail workplaces as possible.
Four Pillars of Security Merchandise
In line with LTB 279/17, Branches are reminded to purchase CWU Four Pillars of Security merchandise to help visually promote the campaign

.Campaign Bulletins
As well as the video, leaflets and posters, Branches, Divisional, Regional and Area Representatives will also receive via email regular, one page Bulletins which will focus on the key issues in the campaign, highlight the CWU’s main messages and update you about ongoing campaign activity. The first Bulletin (Bulletin No.1) will be sent out to Branches, Divisional, Regional and Area Representatives early next week. It is imperative that every Branch ensures that each Bulletin is forwarded to Unit/Local Representatives via email without delay.
WhatsApp Groups
As well as utilising all the traditional methods of campaign communication, the Department is working with the Communications Department to look at setting up WhatsApp groups for Postal Branches to provide a fast, direct channel for publicising and circulating all our Four Pillars of Security campaign material.
Unit Representative Briefings
Arrangements are currently being made to hold a number of regional briefings for CWU Representatives to put the case for the Four Pillars of Security and to win the strongest possible backing from Local Representatives and members. Details of the briefings (with dates, times and venues) will be confirmed in the near future and the information circulated to Branches in due course.
Communication is Key
It is clear the union faces serious challenges trying to secure the Four Pillars of Security and deliver our objectives around pensions, a shorter working week, extending our Agreements and redesigning Royal Mail to deliver future growth in the business. But how well we communicate our campaign messages will be absolutely key to determining the degree and strength of membership support. I therefore strongly urge all Postal Branches to ensure the widest possible circulation of all our campaign material (videos, leaflets, posters and Bulletins) to maximise engagement and support from our members going forward.
Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department in the first instance
Yours sincerely
Terry Pullinger
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
 

Membership Records – On Line Services (OLS)
Branches will be aware that the existing procedure when using the OLS for changing Members details is that nobody outside CWU Headquarters can currently alter a member’s workplace.
These changes can only be completed by contacting the relevant member of staff in the membership records department.
A number of Branches have raised this issue with us over a protracted of time. We have considered the points raised by Branches and as a result we have taken the decision to update our Online Services System to allow branches to change their own members workplaces within their own branch area.  
To be clear, branches will not be entitled or able to alter the workplaces of any member who is not in their branch. To make these changes branches will need to continue to contact the membership records department to proceed with these changes.
We are currently scoping the project and once we have the updates to the system in place and tested them thoroughly, we will provide branches with an implementation date in order that they can begin to utilise the additional process. We expect this to be, subject to supplier delivering on time, at the end of June 2017. 
Any enquires should be addressed to makerman@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
 
TONY KEARNS

SENIOR DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY
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LTB 289/17 – Membership Records – On Line Services (OLS)

GENERAL SECRETARY – DAVE WARD 

The purpose of this LTB is to update Branches on the latest situation with our General Secretary Dave Ward, who as you will be aware, has recently been off work due to illness.

I have been in regular contact with Dave and can report that he is feeling better. Dave is also happy for me to advise Branches that he has been now been diagnosed with a rare autoimmune syndrome. He is due back at the hospital next week and subject to doctors’ advice, he is hoping to return to work soon.

In the meantime, Dave has indicated that he will be getting back involved with some work issues and as seen yesterday with the Guardian article, he intends to make some interventions in the General Election campaign over the next few weeks.

Dave has asked me to pass on his sincere thanks to all those who have sent get well messages and on behalf of the union I know we would wish Dave both a speedy return to health and his role as General Secretary of the CWU.

Any enquiries on the content of this LTB please forward to gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Tony Kearns

Acting General Secretary

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LTB 277/17 – GENERAL SECRETARY – DAVE WARD

Election of National Delegations 2017 
Labour Party Conference – 2017

TUC Conference – 2017 

Further to LTB 249/17, dated 3rd May at the close of nominations the following had been received:  
TUC
Postal Constituency
NEC (1 Member)
Mick Kavanagh
South Midlands Postal
*ELECTED
Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women) 
Katie Dunning
West London Postal
*ELECTED
Kate Hudson
South Midlands Postal
*ELECTED
James McKechnie
Glasgow & District Amal
*ELECTED
Sajid Shaikh  
Birmingham & District Amal
*ELECTED
Amarjite Singh
South East Wales Amal  
*ELECTED
Rob Wotherspoon
Bristol & District Amal
*ELECTED
 
Telecom & Financial Services Constituency
NEC (1 Member)
Tom Cooper
Leicester & Mid Shires, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1,Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Lay Members (5 Members at least 2 delegates must be women) 
Erin Massey
NI Telecoms, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Joyce Stevenson
Scotland No 1, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
 
 
*Ballot Required
Daniel Coles
East Midlands, Capital, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
 
Tony Gilkes
Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
 
Steve Phillips
Central Counties & Thames Valley
 
Jeffrey Till
Greater London Combined
 
 
LABOUR PARTY
Postal Constituency
NEC (1 Member)
Steve Jones
London Postal Engineering, London Regional MT
*ELECTED
Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women) 
Katie Dunning
West London Postal
* ELECTED
Kate Hudson
South Midlands Postal
* ELECTED
  
 
*Ballot Required
Paul Braithwaite
North Lancs & Cumbria
 
Kye Dudd
Bristol & District Amal
 
Hugh Gaffney
Glasgow & District Amal
 
Sajid Shaikh
Birmingham District Amal
 
Alan Tate
London Regional MT, London Postal Engineering
 
Richard Wilkins
South Central Postal
 
 
Telecom & Financial Services Constituency
NEC (1 Member)
Dave Tee
Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Scotland No 1, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Lay Members (5 Members at least 2 delegates must be women) 
Natalie Fleming
Northern Ireland Telecom, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Joyce Stevenson
Scotland No 1, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Craig Anderson
Scotland No 1, Capital, East Midlands, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Brian Kenny
Mersey, Capital, East Midlands, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Steve Phillips
Central Counties & Thames Valley
*ELECTED
 
The ballot timetable is as follows: 
Despatch ballot papers 25 May 2017

Ballot Closes 8 June 2017 (14:00) 
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
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 282/17 – Election of National Delegations – Labour Party & TUC Conferences 2017

Election of CWU Nominee for election to the Labour Party NEC – 2017 
Further to LTB 250/17 dated 3rd May 2017. 
Please find below the list of accepted nominations for the above position. 
Candidate Branch
Andy Kerr
CWU Officers  
(Elected)
Nominating Branches:
CWU Officers, Bristol & District Amal, Capital, Cornwall Amal, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Dundee & Borders, Glasgow & Motherwell, Great Western, Manchester Combined, Mersey, Mid Wales, The Marches & North Staffs, North Anglia, North West No 1, Scotland No 1, Somerset , Devon & Cornwall, South East Wales Amal, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear Clerical
Any enquires in regards to this election should be directed 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
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 281/17 – Election of CWU Nominee for election to the Labour Party NEC 20

GENERAL ELECTION 2017 – REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE  
In the forthcoming General Election, the campaigning activities of organisations and individuals are regulated by electoral law. As a ‘non-party campaigner’ there are strict rules on what we can spend on regulated campaign activity in the run-up to the election. 
The rules apply to targeted spending where a ‘non-party campaigner’ engages in regulated campaign activity which meets two tests, the ‘purpose’ test and the ‘public’ test :- 
The ‘purpose test’ – if the activity can reasonably be regarded as intended to influence voters to vote for or against one or more political parties; or particular candidates.

The ‘public test’ – if the activities are aimed at, seen or heard by, or involves the public, or a section of the public (CWU members would not be considered part of the public)

Further information can be obtained from the Electoral Commission’s document ‘Overview of regulated non-party campaigning’ (pages 6 and 7) accessed by the link below:-
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/224955/UKPGE-2017-Overview-of-non-party-regulated-campaign-activity.pdf 
We need to report to the Electoral Commission all the union’s expenditure that meet the tests above within the regulated election period which is between 9th June 2016 and 8th June 2017. 
In order to comply, Branches must therefore tell us of any money spent campaigning on such issues as the Post Office Closure campaign, Anti-Austerity campaigns, and Defending Public Services Campaigns etc. Branches should assess against the tests any other activities between these dates and provide details of all expenditure for leaflets, goods, promotion materials, special leave payments and travel costs etc. We will need to itemise spend and provide invoices for all payments over £200.
The rules do not apply to spending by a union on communications with its own members even if this relates directly to the election or other activities such as encouraging our members to register to vote or apply for a postal vote. Nor do the rules apply to donations made by the CWU directly to the Labour Party at local, regional or national level. The Labour Party itself needs to declare these to the Electoral Commission.If branches are paying for the release of CWU representatives to help CLPs or Regional Labour Parties you should liaise locally to ensure that this resource is accounted for by the Party. 
All Branches are required to complete the attached form. For your convenience this is in Excel spreadsheet format and ‘Microsoft Word’ version table. 
The spreadsheet should be completed and returned to your Regional Secretary by Monday 26th June 2017. 
Regional Secretaries will support branches in their adherence of the rules and the completion of this spreadsheet. If you have any questions or queries about the spending rules or those activities and items that need to be reported – then you should, in the first instance, contact your Regional Secretary for advice and guidance. 
The Electoral Commission website contains further information on all matters relating to the General Election 2017 and this can be accessed through the link below. 
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/party-or-campaigner/non-party-campaigners
Any queries relating to the contents of this LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org. 
Yours sincerely
 
Tony Kearns

Acting General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
Attachment 1 – LTB 278/17 – General Election 2017

Attachment 2 – UK Parliamentary General Election 2017 – non party campaigners

Attachment 3 – Managing non-party campaign spending

Attachment 4 – Branch – General Election 2017 Expenditure report

Attachment 5 – Branch – General Election 2017 Expenditure report (Word)

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Youth Conference 2017 – Motions 3 and 4 – Suicide amongst young people 
Dear Colleagues, 
As part of their work to meet the terms of Motions 3 and 4 that were carried at this year’s Youth Conference the National Young Workers Committee has been speaking to organisations such as Papyrus UK about working together in the future. 
As part of that collaboration the committee would like to raise awareness of some of the work that Papyrus UK does and offers the attached information for branches to print out and disseminate amongst their members and workplaces. 
Suicide is the biggest killer of young people – male and female – under 35 in the UK. In 2015, 1,659 young people took their own lives. That equates to over four per day. Every year many thousands more attempt or contemplate suicide, harm themselves or suffer alone, afraid to speak openly about how they are feeling. Organisations such as Papyrus exist to be the point of contact for any young person struggling with mental illness and suicidal thoughts. 
In April the National Young Workers Committee sponsored a Mental Health First Aid course whereby 16 young CWU reps took part in a two-day course that will enable them to better assist friends and colleagues who are suffering with mental health issues. 
The Young Workers Stall at the CWU Annual Conference also showcased the work of Papyrus and many delegates and young reps were able to take away some very useful information. 
We hope that the foregoing information and the attachments are useful to branches and members. The National Young Workers Committee intends to continue its work in this area and is due to meet with Papyrus UK shortly to talk about ways in which the two organisations can work together in the coming months. 
Further updates will be issued, but in the meantime if anyone has any queries on this LTB or its attachments please get in touch with Jo Thair (jthair@cwu.org). 
Yours sincerely, 
Tony Kearns 

Acting General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 280/17 – Youth Conference 2017 – Motions 3 and 4 – Suicide amongst young people

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

Attachment 3

Attachment 4

Attachment 5

Attachment 6

Attachment 7

Attachment 8

Attachment 9

Election of National Representative Positions – 2017
Postal Standing Orders Committee

Telecoms & Financial Services Standing Orders Committee  

Further to LTB 248/17 dated 2nd May 2017 at the close of nominations the following have been received.
 
Postal SOC (7 Members) *Ballot Required  
Candidates
Nominating Branches
Phil Callaghan
Greater Mersey
Phil Ewer
South East No 5
John Gaby
London Phoenix
Scott Haslam 
Leeds No 1
Brian Irvine
Newcastle Amal
Paddy Magill
North Lancs & Cumbria
Bola Omoyeni
South Midlands Postal
Tony Sneddon  
Scotland No 5
Julia West
South Yorks & District, Doncaster & District Amal
Richard Wilkins
South Central Postal
 
Telecom SOC (7 Members) 
Candidates  
Nominating Branches
Rob Alldritt
Mersey, Capital, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, North East, Scotland No 1, Somerset Devon & Cornwall, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Craig Anderson
Scotland No 1, Capital, Edinburgh, Dundee & Borders, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs North East, Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Adam Gibbins
Somerset Devon & Cornwall, Capital, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, North East, Scotland No 1
*ELECTED
Dave Mitchell
North East, Capital, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs Mersey, Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, Scotland No 1, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Joanne Shaftoe
Tyne & Wear Clerical, Capital, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs Mersey, North East, Scotland No 1, Somerset Devon & Cornwall
*ELECTED
Joyce Stevenson
Scotland No 1, Capital, Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs Mersey, North East, Somerset, Devon & Cornwall, Tyne Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
Phil Thomas
Somerset Devon & Cornwall, Capital, North East, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs Mersey, Scotland No 1, Tyne & Wear Clerical
*ELECTED
The Timetable for the ballot is as follows:
Despatch ballot papers 23 May 2017

Ballot closes 6 June 2017 (14:00)
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
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 274/17 – Election of National Representative Positions – Postal & TFS Standing Orders Committees 2017

GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND LABOUR MANIFESTO
 
The Labour Party published its manifesto for the general election this morning. As you may have seen this contains a number of important policies on key issues that the CWU has campaigned for, including pledges to:
 
Re-nationalise Royal Mail

 
Commit significant public investment to rolling out superfast and ultrafast broadband

 
Set up a Post Bank and halt the Crown office closure programme

 
Bring in a comprehensive package of enhanced trade union and employment rights, including the abolition of the agency workers loophole

 
Maintain the ‘triple lock’ for the state pension

 
Alongside these commitments, the manifesto sets out plans for an additional £6bn of funding per year for the NHS; a bold housebuilding programme with 100,000 new council and housing association homes a year; renationalising the railways and other important public services to bring them back under public control; and the provision of free school meals to all primary school children. The full manifesto is available at http://www.labour.org.uk/manifesto.
 
The programme that the manifesto sets out represents a radical agenda for government which reflects many of our policies and campaigns. With commitments on public ownership, collective bargaining, tackling inequality and public investment to rebalance the economy, this election represents a once in a generation opportunity to shift the balance of forces in the UK.
 
Emergency Motion E8 which was unanimously passed at CWU Conference committed the union to campaigning for Labour and it is crucial that Branches now support this.
 
No-one will be under any illusions that overturning the Conservative majority will be easy, but the changes we want to see in this country will only be delivered if the labour movement as a whole gets behind the campaign and engages its members in this.
 
We are therefore asking all Branches to contact their local Constituency Labour Party for details of campaigning sessions and speak to their CWU Regional Secretary about events in their area.
 
In the coming weeks we will be putting out key messages from the union through our social media channels and the Voice which we would ask branches to share with members. It is important that they understand what is at stake and what the union’s political work has helped to deliver in the agenda Labour has put forward.
 
Finally, the deadline for registering to vote is 22nd May. We would ask branches to make sure all CWU members, particularly those who are young or have moved recently, have registered using the following link: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
 
Any queries on the contents of this LTB should be directed to gsoffice@cwu.org.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Tony Kearns
Acting General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 273/17 – GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND LABOUR MANIFESTO