CWU Abandons Inaugural National Awards Night

As previously reported by this website last week (Friday 23rd March) the CWU wrote to all it's Branches advising of the new CWU National Awards event via LTB109/18:

"The CWU will be hosting the inaugural CWU National Awards Evening 2018 on Monday 23rd April at the Marsham Court Hotel, Bournemouth. The evening will commence 19:00 and include a three course meal and a series of presentations hosted by a high profile guest."

It detailed the categories that Branches could nominate CWU activists for, which in itself caused some controversy amongst the Health & Safety community of the Union because it left out any mention of a category for Health & Safety reps to be nominated for the excellent work they do on behalf of the CWU by helping to protect the health, safety and welfare of our members and to assist in redress when things go wrong.

Today, the Union's General Secretary has issue this statement, announcing the postponement of the event:

"Branches will be aware from LTB109/18 that we intended to host a CWU National Awards evening on Monday 23rd April.

The purpose of this LTB is to advise branches that after giving this matter further consideration and in particular taking into account significant logistical difficulties, we have decided to postpone the event. The matter will be considered further as something that may be planned for our 2019 conference."

Interestingly enough no detailed reason is given for the postponement or, indeed the suggestion that the event may not even go ahead in the future, as implied by the final sentence.

"Significant logistical difficulties" is given as the reason, but this in itself begs the question as to whether or not the 'logistics' had been organised in the first place and prior to the announcement of the event being published.

Speculation of course, will be rife, given the upset caused by the exclusion of a Safety Reps category in the first place, and the clear message seems to be that rather than acquiesce to the view that USRs deserve as much as any group of union reps to receive a national award in recognition of the work of one of their number; no CWU union rep will get recognised for the work they do!

Source: CWU LTB175/18

See also: CWU Launches Controversial Re-Design Of The Union

 

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