COMMEMORTATING THE 1971 POSTAL STRIKE
LTB 510/20
To: All Branches
Dear Colleague
COMMEMORTATING THE 1971 POSTAL STRIKE
The purpose of this LTB is to advise Branches that next year is the 50th Anniversary of the 1971 Postal Strike, which ran for almost 7 weeks from the 20th January 1971 to 8th March 1971.
Given the significance of this strike, not just to the CWU but also to the wider trade union movement and our social history, it is important that we commemorate what remains as the longest national strike that has ever taken place within the union (the then UPW). Therefore, in conjunction with the Communications team, we are planning a special event for January 2021, in recognition of the sacrifices made by our members in supporting their union and we welcome any ideas from Branches on the best way to commemorate this.
As part of the planning we are compiling a list of members from 1971 who still remain members of the union today, albeit mostly retired.
Given that the dispute took place when postal and telecommunications were part of the old GPO, it’s also likely that some T&FS Branches may have members who took part in the strike, particularly in engineering and the old telephone operator grades.
To help us compile the list we are also asking Branches to put forward any individual members who you are aware would like to take part in the event. This may involve those members talking about their recollections of the strike on video etc. and collecting relevant photos and memorabilia.
We will also be contacting retired members directly in due course and Norman Candy (former NEC member) will be placing information on the retired members’ website as we plan the event.
In the meantime, please send your ideas and any members you wish to nominate to participate in the event to Janina Dunn at jdunn@cwu.org.
Please also ensure that the content of this LTB is raised directly with the retired members secretary and section of your Branch.
Any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to jdunn@cwu.org
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward Tony Kearns
General Secretary Senior Deputy General Secretary
LTB ONLINE
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