‘We are not prepared to stand by’

Speaking in support of an emergency motion on Wednesday (September 11) on the latest Royal Mail dispute, Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke explained Unite’s stance.

“Unite organises manager and senior staff in Royal Mail and so the CWU’s dispute is one that we in Unite feel we must support,” he said.

“Unite managers and senior staff in Royal Mail have seen threats to our members’ job security and an environment that has seen morale amongst our membership drop to an unprecedented low,” he added.

“You may recall that in 2017 we also made a similar pledge to the CWU as Royal Mail attacked pay and conditions in a continuing race to the bottom.

“That future cannot be built on sand and the weak foundations of privatisation, deregulation and ever more insecure contracting and employment models.”

Burke said that Unite unequivocally supports the fight against privatisation and will continue to support the campaign to defend the Royal Mail and Post Office by “returning them to where they belong in public ownership under a Labour government who are already committed to do it”.

“We are not prepared to stand by and see this attack on the CWU,” he continued. “We will stand with them in this fight back.

“We will stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their fight for the future of this vital public service and the dedicated people who work for it.”

Urging Congress to support the Royal Mail workers in their dispute, he said Unite “is proud to stand with the CWU”.

The motion was carried.