THE POLITICAL ROLE OF THE CWU


BACKGROUND

The CWU has been affiliated to the Labour Party since the foundation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900. The then Postmen's Federation affiliated, followed by the newly merged Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) in 1920. On the engineering side, the Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) affiliated in 1963 followed by the National Communications Union (Clerical) section in 1991.


THE RELATIONSHIP

The relationship between the Labour Party and the CWU operates at three levels: national, regional and local.

National
The CWU is represented on the Labour Party's National Executive Committee in the trade union section by the General Secretary, Derek Hodgson. The Union is represented on the National Policy Forum by General Secretary, Derek Hodgson, and Deputy General Secretary (Clerical) Jeannie Drake. The CWU also has representation on the Trade Union Liaison Committee which brings trade unions together in order to organise support during election campaigns.

Regional
There are nine Labour Party Regions and the CWU is represented on seven of the Regional Executive Committees. These act as administrative units to co ordinate the work of the Party.

Local
Each Branch of the CWU can affiliate to Constituency Labour Parties within their boundaries. The CWU Branch can then send a nominated delegate to CLP meetings to support the work of the Party in that Parliamentary Constituency.


POLICIES

The CWU is able to send delegations of its members to both the national Labour Party Annual Conference and Regional Labour Party Conferences. At these conferences, the Union is given voting rights in accordance with its affiliated membership, weighted by a 50:50 percentage division between trade union and CLP voting strengths. The CWU has a direct input into debates by being able to submit motions and amendments and through contributions by its delegates.


PARLIAMENTARY SELECTIONS

The CWU has nomination rights for candidates involved in standing for Parliament in individual Parliamentary Constituencies. Up until 1993, trade unions had voting rights in Parliamentary selections, but the move to a One Member, One Vote (OMOV) procedure limited trade union involvement to nominations.

In the General Election of May 1997, the nine existing CWU-supported MPs all stood for re-election and a further eight CWU members stood for election.


PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION

In the last General Election, all nine existing CWU-supported MPs were re-elected :
Joe Benton (Bootle) Former Girobank Clerical Officer
Judith Church (Dagenham)
Michael Connarty (Falkirk East)
Peter Hain (Neath)Former UCW Head of Research
Kate Hoey (Vauxhall)
John McWilliams (Blaydon)Former BT Planner
Estelle Morris (Birmingham Yardley)
Chris Smith (Islington South and Finsbury)
Roger Stott (Wigan)Former BT External Technician
Four other CWU colleagues were elected for the first time :
Alan Johnson ( Hull West & Hessle)Former Joint General Secretary
Bob Laxton (Derby North)Former BT Engineer
Paul Marsden (Shrewsbury & Atcham)Former Mitel Quality Manager
Geraldine Smith (Morecambe & Lunesdale) Former Royal Mail employee

Also we have a special relationship with a member of the House of Lords: Lord Ewing of Kirkford.

Finally, we have a financial relationship with two members of the European Parliament: Eddie Newman (Great Manchester Central) and Barry Seal (West Yorkshire).

All these politicians are from the Labour Party.


POLITICAL FUND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Internally the CWU has the above Committee to manage the Political Fund of the Union. By law, the Union is required to ballot its members on retaining a Political Fund every 10 years. The last ballot was held in 1995 and 86% voted in favour of retaining the Fund. The PFMC deals with all political matters except policy issues which are handled by the National & International Policy Committee.


LABOUR PARTY MEMBERSHIP

Under the new rules of membership agreed by the Labour Party in 1993, trade union members belonging to a union affiliated to the Labour Party can join the Labour Party as full members for only £3 a year. The CWU has run many recruitment initiatives to maximise recruitment to the Labour Party from its own ranks.


COMMUNICATIONS

The CWU produces regular information items on political issues. In its monthly journal "Voice", the CWU has articles concerning topical political debates. In addition, a monthly "Political Bulletin" is provided for Branches and Branch Political Officers, and a fortnightly "Parliamentary Bulletin" is produced for the NEC. Other circulations will be sent out on specific campaigns the CWU is currently engaged upon, such as Crown Office closures and British Summer Time.


IAN WINGFIELD
Research Officer
29 June 1998


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