Issue 15 www.cwuessex.org

Essex Amalgamated BranchCommunication Workers Union

PrivatisationThe Fight Goes On!

Royal Mail’s Proposal to CreateLargest Delivery Office

in Essex

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE...Marching for a

Future that Works...Taking to the Streets of London

The RealBusiness Transformation

News: RM2000 WingsRoyal Mail Interim Results

Over the Hillsand Far Away

PrivatisationThe Fight Goes On

Royal Mail Plan to CreateLargest Delivery Office

CWU Humanitarian AidConvoy - Lithuania 2012

Health & SafetyDelivering in the Dark

Marching forA Future That Works

Quiz PageLooking to the Stars

Inside thisIssue:

introduction www.cwuessex.org

2

Next Issue: April 2013If you have any comments or contri-

butions you would like to raise, or

wish to give us feedback regarding

this publication, please talk to your

local representative, or you can

write/e-mail to:

comments@cwuessex.org

Branch Editor, CWU Essex Amal, 21

Short Street, Southend on Sea,

Essex. SS1 1AA

The editorial contentexpressed within thispublication are views ofindividual CWU mem-bers and does not nec-essarily reflect the viewsof the editor orCommunication WorkersUnion at both local andnational level.

Since the BT 2010 and beyond

agreement Royal Mail have

continually told us that Mail vol-

umes are down, productivity is

low and we have to work hard-

er and faster, all whilst Mail

Centres and Delivery offices

close and the workforce

shrinks.

Being involved in various

negotiations with our employer,

including Delivery Office merg-

ers and Mail Centre closures,

the facts are that local and sec-

tor management have never

been under such pressure to

achieve budgetary savings dic-

tated to them from above.

What is absolutely clear to me

through these negotiations, is

that the Post Office board

make a decision to close [or

merge] an office for financial

reasons and ONLY THEN is

the detail worked up. This has

resulted in a deterioration of

quality of service in the relent-

less pursuit of profit.

The upshot of this “pressure

from above” is failing delivery

revisions because of un-

agreed and un-achievable

arbitrary savings targets and

failing Mail Centres because of

THE REAL BUSINESS

TRANSFORMATION

[Bob Gibson quoteNovember 2012:]

“There are clearexamples of man-

agers attempting toforce increasing

workloads onto ourmembers and thenaccusing them of

poor performance!This can only be

described asBullying,

harassmentand downright

intimidation andthis is a situationwe cannot allow

to continue”.

By John HuntEssex Amalgamated Branch Sceretary

www.cwuessex.org

3

introduction

a National desire to massively

reduce the amount of Mail

Centres in the Country. The

reality of the situation leaves

our customers being “fooled”

that quality of service to their

mail is being maintained whilst

behind the scenes Royal Mail

continues to bank huge sav-

ings at the expense of cus-

tomer quality and all in readi-

ness for privatisation.

When your local media pigeon

holes Royal Mail for a com-

ment on poor quality of service

Royal Mails slick central com-

munications department

mobilise. The Royal Mail

“Spokesperson” [who is not

known to any of us] ensures

consistency of positive spin

which negates accountability

from local level, gives a false

corporate rosy view of things

and fools the public into think-

ing all is fine in the postal

industry.

It is this style and approach

which is an insult to you the

members and of course the

public in which we all serve. In

the “real” Royal Mail world.

[Bob Gibson quote November

2012:] “There are clear exam-

ples of managers attempting to

Deliveries Failing

Mail Centres Creaking

Mail Volumes UPface the union and postal sec-

tor going forward. You can be

sure that this Union will contin-

ue to be innovative and for-

ward thinking which will be

shaped by a responsible, inclu-

sive and reasoned approach.

The Branch throughout 2012

has been fully involved at all

levels of the Union, including

conferences and special brief-

ings called by our Union

Headquarters. Your Essex

Amalgamated Branch are

never slow to put forward our

views and in doing so shaping

the type of business that we

want to work in. I am not say-

ing that we always get it right

but I commit to you that we will

always be accountable to you

the members and always do

our personal best in pursuit of

better terms and conditions

during your employment.

Finally, I would like to thank all

the CWU local, Area and

Branch officers for doing a

great job this Year, I’d like to

thank you the members for

making this branch as strong

as it is and finally I wish all of

you and your families the very

best of health and happiness in

2013. Very best wishes to all.

force increasing workloads

onto our members and then

accusing them of poor per-

formance””, “this can only be

described as bullying, harass-

ment and downright intimida-

tion” and “this is a situation we

cannot allow to continue”. [end

quote]

In these recent years of auster-

ity, this Union have fought for

and achieved the highest of

pay settlements across the

public sector, the latest of

course being 3.5% in Royal

Mail back in April 2012. Now,

with the benefit of hindsight,

this was an excellent pay deal

on the back of an extremely

controversial agreement,

visionary in some eyes and the

right deal at the right time in

others. This Union can be

proud of facing up to difficult

challenges and the decisions

that come with the honour of

having responsibility of office.

We now find ourselves moving

onto a different phase with the

latest big ticket issues such as

the separation of Royal Mail

group and Post Office limited,

European State Aid, privatisa-

tion, pay talks and the progress

of the Postal Services Act that

4

www.cwuessex.orgnews

AGREED UsE of ADDitionAl

5th AnD 6th WinGs on

RoYAl MAil 2000 PREP fRAMEs

greement has now been

reached with regard to the

use of additional wings on

Royal Mail 2000 prep frames.

Recent revision activity has

seen a growth in the number of

delivery points for each deliv-

ery. This has led to a greater

demand for larger frames.

As a consequence the CWU

met with Royal Mail with a view

to expand the current maxi-

mum frame configuration size.

The CWU have been fully

involved in all aspects of this

trial. The agreement is intend-

ed to expand on the options

available in Delivery Offices.

The new agreement will pro-

vide an alternative option to

alleviate the use of double slot-

ting where called for and where

space allows.

The efficient use of space is

also a matter which needs to

be considered and the agree-

ment to use 5th and 6th wings

does not detract from the

agreement on space standards

within Delivery Offices.

Extension of packet sorting

using 5th and 6th wings allows

for an element of greater flexi-

bility with regard to sorting

packets on RM2000’s. This is

ergonomically more efficient

and reduces the need to lift

packets above shoulder height

to the top of a delivery frame.

ROYAL MAIL GROUPInterim Results

oyal Mail Group announced

its results for the first 6

months of the 2012 financial

year. Operating profit, after

stripping out cost of its mod-

ernisation programme, had

risen to 144 million pounds

from reporting 12 million profit

a year ago.

These are the first set of finan-

cial results to exclude Post

Office Ltd following its separa-

tion from the Royal Mail Group.

They show an improvement in

revenue and profitability in the

core UK Parcels, International

and Letters business. This is

driven by the recent significant

price rises and growth in

parcels and packets.

However, the results report

that letter volumes continue to

fall.

The business also acknowl-

edges the difficult nature of the

modernisation programme,

describing it as involving

“painful, difficult change”.

These confirm the company

has significantly improved its

financial position, without any

inclusion of sale of property

assets.

The results are a further

demonstration that it is entirely

possible for the Royal Mail to

be successful in the public sec-

tor and this will strengthen the

Union’s campaign against pri-

vatisation.

Around 47% of the overall rev-

enue increase has come from

growth in parcels which is set

to continue. The business now

refers to packets as parcels.

A

R

n November you would have

received a letter from our

Head Quarters laying out some

of the issues that are about to

threaten the survival of our

industry. The two main topics

highlighted the government

plans to privatisation the indus-

try and regulation/competition.

These two issues are the real

threat to our existence in the

communications industry.

Change is inevitable and we

have to engage with it and

make the best opportunities to

help our industry, which we

must do or fail, but there is a

bigger picture to all this. We

have all endured change over

recent years and helped put

the profit back into the coffers

of the business, to make it

viable to interested buyers.

There has also been a large

sell-off of business owned

estates to balance the books.

The latest financial statement

is that we have made a profit.

Ofcom became the Postal reg-

ulator at the end of 2011, fol-

lowed by a statement by Group

Director of competition Stuart

Mctintosh: ‘The universal

postal service which insures

letters are delivered to every

addressee in the UK six days a

week is significant and highly

valued by the PUBLIC’.

However, now that very same

regulator has published contra-

dictory information on research

carried out highlighting the

needs of the users of UK postal

services. Some of the issues

considered include: Is there a

need for a six day week? Do

we require a First and Second

class service? Is their enough

encouragement of End-to-End

competition?

This is further evidence that

the marketisation and privati-

sation of UK postal services

will ultimately lead to the USO

becoming unsustainable. The

growing pressures that will

come from unfair competition

are also likely to be used by

employers to create a race to

the bottom culture for jobs and

a weakening of our terms and

conditions.

Over The Hills & Far Away

The position of your union is

that we want a quality postal

service, a trusted service that

serves the needs of our cus-

tomers. The USO is vital for

protecting our service stan-

dards and be recognised.

Meanwhile the Government

stated that the sale would

depend on the right economic

conditions and unlikely to pro-

ceed until late 2013.

So over the hills and far

away lay hundreds of small

communities set in our green

and pleasant land. Countryside

full of vibrant villages that

depend so much on our postal

service. These issues will ulti-

mately change our wonderful

postal services forever.

This is a very serious situation.

It is essential that you the

members start to involve your-

selves on this massive issue if

you want to continue enjoying

the benefits you have in this

industry, because if we don’t

pull together, the end of the

most loved and cherished pub-

lic service will be gone!!

5

www.cwuessex.org feature

I

Who will protect the Towns, Villages and Rural Post Boxes

feature www.cwuessex.org

6

he threat of privatisation still

hangs over us. What we still

don’t know is what form of pri-

vatisation the government

have in store for us. No doubt,

it will be the one that gives the

Tories friends in the city the

biggest return.

We must not forget what pri-

vatisation will mean for us, the

people that process the mail,

the people that deliver the mail,

the average working person.

Not the few that make thou-

sands of pounds a week, whilst

at the same time receiving

more in bonuses than most

working people earn in a life-

time. Privatisation for us,

means more job losses and

more attacks on our terms and

conditions.

Whoever takes over this indus-

try will no doubt argue that

we’re overpaid and under-

worked as they strive to take

as much money out of your

pocket and redistribute it into

the pockets of themselves and

their fellow shareholders. Be

under no illusion, under privati-

sation there will be two sets of

losers, postal workers and the

general public. All the prob-

lems of the industry will be

blamed on you, as the share-

holders will evade any

accountability if anything goes

wrong whilst they will be the

first at the trough when it

comes to making money for

themselves.

If anyone thinks that the above

is scare mongering, I suggest

you look no further than all of

the other privatised utilities,

there is not one example of pri-

vatisation meaning better

terms and conditions for its

employees, just the same as

there is not one example of pri-

vatisation meaning the public

get a better, cheaper service.

Privatisation means this indus-

try no longer being a public

service. It will overnight be

transformed into a cash cow

for the few at the top.

Your Union would be doing you

a dis-service if it did not contin-

ue fighting privatisation until

this industry is finally sold off.

That is why in the coming

months you will hear more and

more about your unions plans

to fight the sell off. In the new

year a consultative ballot will

be sent to the membership

asking for you to endorse your

Unions plans to fight this gov-

ernments plans to destroy this

industry. I urge all of you to lis-

ten to the arguments and plans

your union puts to you on this

issue and make sure you vote

on this important issue. There

is no second chance, if we do

not stand up and fight now, any

chance of fending off privatisa-

tion will be lost forever.

I remain confident that with

your continued support, this

Union can still have a huge say

in the shaping of our future.

By remaining United we can

show Royal Mail and any

potential investors that this

Union and its membership will

whole heartedly fight any

attacks on our jobs, pay, terms

and conditions. If we show any

weakness it will be seen as a

green light for the government

to attack your union destroy

everything we have achieved.

Never has it been more impor-

tant for this Union and its mem-

bership to shout with one

voice. Never has it been more

important for this Union and its

membership to send a mes-

sage to the powers that be that

we will fight back if we are

attacked. And never has it

been more important for this

Union and its membership to

show the government and its

supporters of privatisation, that

we the employees do not want

the end of Royal Mail being a

public service and instead

being another privatised com-

pany that cares nothing for

either its staff or the customers

it is supposed to serve.

There is only one organisation

that has your interests at heart,

and that is the CWU. Please

support our efforts to protect

your jobs and send a clear

message to the government,

royal mail and any potential

buyers that we the people gen-

erate the profits for this indus-

try and WE DO NOT WANT

ANY PRIVATISATION.

T

By Vince ThurnellChelmsford Processing Rep

PRIVATISATIONTHE FIGHT GOES ON...

featurewww.cwuessex.org

7

Privatisation equates to

many more job losses &

further attacks on our

terms and conditions

oyal Mail’s proposed plan to modernise postal services in the Southend and Rochford

borough’s could lead to the closure of three delivery offices and two SPDO’s in the sur-

rounding area and turn Southend (MPU) Mail’s Processing Unit into one of the largest

Delivery Office’s in the country!

Not long after the departure of

Southend’s inward operation to

Chelmsford Mail Centre, along

with around 120 of its staff, it

has been obvious to the union

branch committee that Royal

Mail would next be looking into

the prospect of savings from

outer lying delivery offices.

Discussions between manage-

ment and the union have been

ongoing throughout recent

months and will continue long

into 2013 as Royal Mail’s pro-

posed merger of delivery

offices from Leigh on Sea,

Shoeburyness, Rochford, Gt

Wakering and Canewdon into

Southend MPU draws close.

Royal Mail’s latest proposal

Royal Mail’s Proposal to CreateLargest Delivery Office

in Essex!

presented to the union shows

dates for all PDO and SPDO

merger activity to be complet-

ed by 25th March 2013.

The CWU though are "far

from confident" of Royal Mail

achieving their proposed time-

frame for any merger activity.

Building alteration work within

Southend MPU is expected to

commence late in December,

which will include both internal

preparations and external

parking facility changes to

accommodate staff and vehi-

cles from all outer lying deliv-

ery offices involved in the

merger. However, we under-

stand that planning permission

is required in part and alter-

ations alone will take time.

8

feature www.cwuessex.org

While Southend MPU is expe-

riencing building alterations,

some delivery offices in ques-

tion are going through delivery

revision activity in accordance

with the Business Transfor-

mation Agreement. Stem times

within these proposed revi-

sions are understood to be

centered from Southend MPU.

Kevin Martin Area Delivery

Rep said: "In our deliberations

with the employer, we want to

make sure that the revision

activity in all offices that are

merging, produce a balanced

package which includes the

maintenance of earnings and

achievable workloads - with no

detriment to the quality of serv-

ice to our customers”.

Your Union at theHeart of Shapingthe Future

R

9

featurewww.cwuessex.org

As part of the merger agree-

ment, and in the advent that all

offices will be relocating to

Southend, both Royal Mail and

CWU have agreed and are

locked into an agreed terms of

reference; this includes:

There’s currently a large

amount of media activity over

the rights and wrongs of the

merger, however the CWU

have stated that all parties will

continue to respect the right of

any office wishing to campaign

for right to keep their delivery

office open. This will depend

on a number of factors includ-

ing matching sustainable sav-

ings compared to post merger

operations. To date, there have

been no counter retention pro-

posals given to the employer

from any location.

John Hunt, Branch Secretary,

commented that in the current

absence of any CWU counter

proposals to retail any local

office the CWU have secured

an excellent terms of reference

to these discussions which

includes all the protection

needed for both Southend and

outer lying delivery office mem-

bers transferring in. John went

on to say "We will ensure that

the terms of reference is at the

heart of our discussions".

Members can view the ‘terms

of reference’ document on

merging office noticeboards.

“As a Union we will

make sure that we

will use all of our

influence and

strength in a

responsible way,

but at the same

time ensure

that we use it to

secure the best

working conditions

for every member

working within

Southend MPU”.

Right of the CWU in each

delivery office to counter

propose the closures.

Ensure maintenance of

earnings in all offices

(including Southend).

Heavy emphasis on

maintaining H&S issues

during building works.

.

.

.

Should the merger go as

planned, the CWU look for-

ward to welcoming all mem-

bers into Southend and main-

taining our excellent track

record of fighting for the very

best of terms and conditions

for our members. Everyone will

be treated exactly the same as

the people already working at

the Mail’s Processing Unit.

Although it’s true to say big is

not always best, it’s fact that

the bigger you are the more

influence you have as an

office.

It’s true to say that once all

staff and work have moved into

Southend, it will become one of

the largest delivery offices in

the country. Both the union and

staff can have a large influence

in change within the newly

established delivery office,

both locally and nationally.

Royal Mail’s Merger Timeline11 February 2013

4 March 2013

25 March 2013

Shoeburyness & Gt Wakering

Leigh on Sea

Rochford & Canewdon

feature www.cwuessex.org

10

2012 Lithuania Volunteers:

Keith Elgar, Eric Parker

Frank Woodhatch

Next Journey: Seeking

volunteers for CWUHA May

2013 convoy

www.cwuha.org

ll the drivers met in Dover on Friday 11th May 2012. Well

most of us did, Eric Parker and John Sones are late -

after getting lost in Tunbridge Wells. Not a good start with

Eric being the convoy leader and we are relying on him to

get us to Lithuania.

Up bright and early on

Saturday and off to Dover port.

We manage to get on the

10.30 ferry out of Dover cross-

ing to Calais. We manage to

work our way through France,

Belgium and Holland, 750km

on our first day, stopping for

the night just outside Venlo.

Up early on Sunday. A quick

stop for bacon butties then on

our way. Plenty of banter on

the CB radios to make the

hours go by. Another 450km

with a stopover in Germany.

Monday morning, we crossed

the border into Poland. This is

where we saw a change in the

roads. Up until now we had

good motorway driving, now

it’s onto A roads.

Another long 438km day on

Tuesday after stopping for the

night just outside Poznan. We

managed to get through

Poland and stop for the night

100km short of Poland.

On the Wednesday we

crossed the Polish border into

Lithuania and drove onto

Vilnius. On the way we

stopped at a lorry park and

swopped the loads around so

that each lorry had an amount

for each children’s home.

We arrive in Vilnius at 19.30

and checked into the Hotel

then met Rasa our contact for

‘Save the Children’ Charity.

Rasa was pleasantly surprised

that six guys had driven three

Lorries so far to help the chil-

dren of Lithuania.

CONVOYLithuania 2012

CWU HUMANITARIAN AID

Heading for Lithuania

A

featurewww.cwuessex.org

11

Next morning we were up early

for breakfast. A worker collect-

ed and led us to the ‘Save the

Children’ Charity offices to

meet all the helpers. After intro-

ductions we start to find out

more about the charity and

was joined by the Chairman

who explained that the offices

that we sat in were loaned free

by a kind estate agent. If the

offices were ever rented out

the charity would have to move

on at short notice.

We returned to the hotel, col-

lected the Lorries and followed

Rasa to the first Children’s

home, Paparciai. There was a

feeling between Keith and

myself that after a long journey

we were now going to do what

we came for. Help the children.

Paparciai is home to 27 chil-

dren. Age’s ranged from three

to nineteen. We also met a

young girl named Sandra who

spent most of her life in

Parparciai. She was there to

visit her brother who is still liv-

ing at the children’s home.

Sandra is a credit and an

example to Paparciai Orphan-

age, the ‘Save the Children’

Charity and of course herself.

Sandra used to live at

Paparciai and with the help of

the Charity fund she is now

only one year away from quali-

fying as a teacher at University.

A great example of what can

be achieved with the right help.

Looking around the Orphan-

age all the children are well

behaved and very pleased to

see us. As we unloaded the

lorry, the children wanted to

help. We didn’t mind with the

smaller items. When we

unloaded the washing machine

I don’t think I have ever seen

anyone so pleased to see one.

The Director of the Orphanage

was nearly in tears, as they

hadn’t use one in a year. China

cups and plates brought the

same reaction. Simple things

but so badly needed.

All too soon we had to leave,

we say our goodbyes. All the

children and Charity workers

wave us off. Keith and I are

quiet for a while, reflecting on

what a great day it had been.

After only one visit to the first

Orphanage on our list both

Keith and I understand what

the Convoys are all about. This

work should never stop. It has

to carry on.

Our second day in Vilnius we

was off to the orphanage

Pabrades. Again lots of help to

unload. The outside of the

building was renovated using

EU money and a government

grant this has now ceased. On

the inside the electrics are in

disrepair and reminded me of a

workhouse. There is still a lot

of work to-do. The children are

really pleased to see us. They

present us with handmade

gifts. The children live two or

three to a room, which encour-

ages a family way of life.

We are again treated to more

food, coffee and cake. John

Sones is quickly becoming our

cake expert. As we leave

Pabrades we reflect on what

can be achieved with the right

help. The help has to continue

so that those homes that have

improved do not slip back.

Next we drive on to Utena. This

is the largest centre that we

have visited and is known as

the Social Support and

Education Centre. As we arrive

all the staff, children and locals

are there to meet us. It doesn’t

take very long to off load the

lorry. We are then taken on a

tour of the centre and it is

explained to us that the Centre

try to deal with at risk women

and young mothers with

babies. It provides a safe

haven for women who are

under threat of violence.

After the visits you can see that

the Charity is doing great work

in Lithuania. We have met

some great people Rasa,

Aureliga, Laura, Lina, Dovile

and Kristina. As soon as you

meet them you can tell that

they are dedicated and enthu-

siastic about the work they do.

But this good work can only

continue with help. These con-

voys are special. They allow

people to meet those that work

for the ‘Save the Children’

charity at ground level. You get

the opportunity to visit the chil-

dren’s homes and see the help

getting to where it should go.

On Monday 21st May we left

Vilnius for the long journey

home. On reflection Keith and I

have had two humbling weeks.

You are away from home for a

long time but the sense of

achievement is huge.

The ‘Save the Children’ charity

still need the help of the CWU

Humanitarian aid to continue

their great work, so don’t stop

the Convoys.

Final Port of Call

Continuing the Journey

or a large number of CWU Member's in Delivery Offices working at night is a thing of the

past. Over recent years night shifts have been targeted by Royal Mail as a major savings

device. Despite the fact that for some member's it is a high earning shift which can improve

your final salary & pension.

It now looks like Royal Mail may be changing it's position on night working?

Last Christmas Royal Mail

were looking for overtime vol-

unteers to deliver packets up to

8pm at night. Needless to say

Royal Mail didn't get many tak-

ers!

This year, Royal Mail are look-

ing at creating temporary

duties to deliver packets up to

8pm at night.

I don't know if this will signal a

change for Royal Mail to open

more delivery offices at night.

But it will certainly present dif-

ferent working conditions for

delivery staff.

F

Health & Safety www.cwuessex.org

12

By Marcus SzaboArea Health & Safety Rep

DELIVERINGSAFELY INTHE DARK

Any delivery carried out in the

dark should be Risk Assessed

& from this information a Walk

Log (including map, info on

hazards etc) should be made

up for the delivery route.

REMEMBER: If you

have an accident on

duty & it was not your

fault then it is Royal

Mail policy to discount

any previous absences

due to this accident.

So remember, if you’re deliver-

ing packets in the dark it is

important to do your job safely.

If you have an accident on duty

Royal Mail will look at what

contributed and caused the

accident.

To be safe you should have a

torch to see where you are

going, you should have a clip

on your jacket for the torch

which would free your hands to

carry heavy packets. You

should also have safe shoes

and a hi-viz jacket so you can

be safe and be seen.

Be safe, be seen

& make sure you

can see what you

are delivering

www.cwuessex.org

13

Health & Safety

SSEX AMAL took to the streets of London on Saturday October the 20th to join col-

leagues of the C.W.U. who descended from around the country to march and protest

against austerity and for A Future That Works.

In total there were over

150,000 demonstrators, but in

real terms each demonstrator

represented friends, family and

work colleagues as well as

themselves.

Similar demonstrations also

took place in Belfast and

Glasgow all with the same

message - 'austerity measures

aren't working'.

Our union was there in force

with many members from all

regions across this union. The

TUC organised march was

noisy and colourful and saw

squeezed families, public sec-

tor workers, the jobless, dis-

abled people and anti-war

activists unite behind the slo-

gan ‘A Future That Works’.

The message was simple:

‘austerity is failing’. The mas-

sive turnout showed how

unpopular the coalition’s poli-

cies are.

The March led to Hyde Park

where various speakers

addressed the crowds, includ-

ing Frances O'Grady who will

be the next leader of the T.U.C.

and the first female to be

General Secretary.

The TUC’s general secretary

Brendan Barber stated: “The

Government is making life des-

perately hard for millions of

people because of pay cuts for

workers, while the rich are

given tax cuts” - a statement

that succinctly gets to the heart

of the issue.

‘It’s clearly one rule for those at

the top and another for every-

body else’, Bob Crowe of the

RMT was loudly cheered as he

called for a 24-hour general

strike and also called on Ed

Miliband to oppose all cuts.

Among the demonstrators

there was a big youth pres-

ence; not surprising given that

long term unemployment has

risen by 23% since the coali-

tion government came to

power. Their frustrations are

obvious.

The March did get its message

across and give a clear state-

ment, however, there were var-

ious coalition M.P’s who

played down the day by saying

it didn't amount to much. It's a

shame they can't listen to the

voices of the working class.

E

www.cwuessex.org

14

Political

Marching for...

A FUTURE THAT WORKSRichard WoodDistribution Rep

Mark Kite,Political Officer

By: &

www.cwuessex.org Political

15

Chelmsford:

www.chelmsfordagainstcuts.wordpress.com

Maldon:

www.maldonagainstcuts.org/

Southend:

www.southendagainstthecuts.wordpress.com/

.

.

.

Just this Summer we hosted

the Olympics including, in the

opening ceremony, a look at

what makes Britain great, high-

lighting the NHS and industrial

revolution, made great by

working class people. The

same people that are now

under attack. It is no wonder

that George Osborne was

booed by 80,000 people!

The political environment has

changed greatly over the last

couple years and from 2010 to

2016/2017 this Coalition

Government plan a total reduc-

tion of £587 billion.

So far spending cuts and tax

increases (for some!) of

around £70 billion have been

implemented, this means we

have only seen 12% of the total

austerity package implement-

ed so far, which I’m sure you’ll

agree highlights just how harsh

the outlook is.

As great as the ‘Future That

Works’ demo was, it will take

much more to change this gov-

ernment’s course and each

and every one of us can be a

part of that movement and

really make a difference in a

whole host of ways.

Your local ‘Against the Cuts’

groups are bringing people

together to effectively fight this

ideological attack on our socie-

ty – why not get involved, you

will be made to feel very wel-

come! A good first port of call

are the following websites.

You can be part of the great

work going on locally and add

your voice to the growing num-

bers, you can also help to

shape future Labour Party

Policy on their newly created

website:

www.yourbritain.org.uk/

The site is intended for every-

day people like us to have the

opportunity to play a part in

developing the next Labour

Party Manifesto, the bleak

Page 1

6 C

rossw

ord

Solu

tion

CWU Essex Amal Members:

Paul Smith, Steven Hale & Julian Davies

future that so many of us face

really can be avoided if enough

of us take action and make our

voices heard, every little action

we can be inspired to take can

contribute to a huge movement

and concerted campaign of

pressure for fair treatment of all

working people in our society.

Just for Fun

This christmas, we’ve included acrossword with a difference! Canyou solve the code and find theletters which correspond to thecorrect number? Good Luck!

QUIZ PAGE

Can You Break theCrossword Code...

www.cwuessex.orgQuiz PageCrossword Solution on page 15

Take the SudokuChallenge...