Westminster branch, POEU A 30 per cent wage increase and an immediate 35-hour week will be among the issues discussed at the Engineering Union's annual conference next week.
Delegates to the conference gather against a background of profound changes. Post Office Telecommunications is in the process of being separated from the rest of the Post Office, into a new corporation - British Telecom.
A massive modernisation underway, including telephone Post Office neatly programme is over 6.000 converting exchanges electro-mechanical systems to systems. Post Office Telecommunications continues to be highly profitable industry, £347m were made in 1979. This is despite paying out almost £500m in interest payments.
The Thatcher government wants to divide up Post and Telecommunications so that they can weaken trade union resistance to their plans for both parts of the business. It would also divide the profitable profitable sections of the Post Office, preparing for the run-down of the latter and opening up the former to private ownership.
The POEU leadership has gone along with the Post Office, or rather the Telecommunications, management, even to the extent of supold-fashioned porting the split.
all-electronic agreement.
from the nonto the level of 1978.
On hours, Two years ago they sold out the campaign for the 35-hour week, capitulating to management and settling for a 37½-hour, 'nil cost', After this campaign the POEU Broad Left was formed, which now has supporters in over 70 union branches and seven supporters on the current National Executive Council.
The Broad Left is opposing the split in the Post Office and organising with militant forces in the other PO unions against its effects. Un wages, we are fighting for a 1980 claim of 30 per cent, without strings, to bring our wages back we want a campaign of industrial action for the 35-hour week now, and the 32in the face of modernisation.
security.
tacks on our standard of living On the other hand, easy when Buzby goes off the air tain and increase the number of jobs in telecom Demands are also being made for increased annual leave, better training facilities and job Every activist in the union understands that we are in for a tough time. The management has made a 'final offer' of only 15 per cent productivity. The government imposed cash-limits are going to make it even harder to rebuff atPO engineers have tremendous power — if only we bring ourselves - to use it. Maggie Thatcher might just find that pushing the working class around isn't quite so end of the strike to resist the