Union urges postal workers to vote “no” to Scottish independence

The UK’s postal and telecommunications union is backing a “no” vote in September’s referendum on Scottish independence. About 800 Communication Workers Union members attending the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth at the weekend passed a motion that recommended all members vote “no” to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

The union, which represents 17,000 postal and telecoms workers in Scotland, said the result was an “overwhelming” backing for the recommendations of its National Executive Committee.

The National Executive Committee itself based its recommendation for a “no” vote on votes held at two Scottish branch forums and two polls of its Scottish members, 60% of whom backed the “no” vote against 26.3% in favour of Scottish independence.

Billy Hayes, the CWU general secretary, said that following the votes, the union will be urging its Scottish members to vote “no” in the referendum scheduled for 18th September.

He said maintaining the current form of the UK was in the best interest of the union’s members given the policies of austerity and the “barrage of cuts” to public services being put forward by the UK’s and Scottish governments.

“This is an extremely important constitutional debate and it is crucial that as a trade union we are able to assist our members on the impact this will have on the Scottish economy and that of the rest of the UK,” said Hayes.

“The majority of our members support a ‘no’ vote as we found when conducting polls and holding forums. A ‘no’ vote would be in the best interests of our members.”

Polls

With less than six months to go before Scotland votes on whether to stay in the UK, the “yes” camp has been gaining momentum in recent months, although the “no” vote maintains a narrow lead in opinion polls. The gap is seen as being narrow enough that undecided voters could swing the vote one way or the other.

Independence for Scotland could have significant impacts on the postal industry on both sides of the border. The current Scottish government favours renationalisation of the postal service if Scotland breaks away, while the UK government has warned of significant disruption to mail services following independence.

Andy Kerr, the CWU deputy general secretary, said the impact would be “profound”, since Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd have extensive networks in Scotland. Royal Mail has about 12,500 employees in Scotland, delivering to 2.5m addresses.

“An independent Scotland would put untold pressure on these companies and the jobs of our members,” said Kerr.

“It’s not clear what the implications would be on Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligation in an independent Scotland, the pension schemes our members are enrolled in or how it would affect the roll-out of broadband services to the inaccessible rural communities in Scotland. Independence would have a significant impact on the ability of these companies to invest in their networks.”