THE FIRST General Secretary election since the formation of the Communications Workers Union out of the merger of the BT-dominated NCU and the Post Office-dominated UCW in 1996 takes place this month.
There are four declared candidates. Three of them, the current joint General Secretaries Derek Hodgson and Tony Young, and Peter Morris are all Blairite right wingers, distinguished only in that they come from different sections of the union.
Hodgson, an old style right wing UCW bureaucrat is the only one with a serious chance of winning since he is backed by the majority UCW component bureaucracy on the 'buggins turn' principle.
Billy Hayes, a national postal official who is being backed by the CWU Broad Left, is the candidate standing against the consensus.
The basis of his "Unity 98" campaign is outlined in a pamphlet against the flexible working conditions which is currently the main employer attack on CWU members in both Post and Telecommunications.
This needs to be developed into a campaign for the shorter working week. He is also supporting calls for more union democracy and for a left programme for the Labour Party, including opposition to the single currency.
Billy has been nominated by over thirty branches from across the union, and is the only candidate capable of rising above sectionalism and appealing to activists EWU DO NOT CROSS and members across the union.
The campaign in the Postal constituency is having some success in challenging the mistaken and apolitical belief that the General Secretary election does not matter compared with left control of the chairpersonship of the Postal Industry Committee.
Former GS Alan Johnson, now an MP, constantly sabotaged the 1996 Royal Mail strikes against the introduction of flexibility. DO NOT CROSS The campaign can overcome its false start when Hayes and his supporters attempted to do a deal with the right wing Clerical leadership. Hayes has a very real chance to win and turn the union leadership away from its course of pro-business "partnership".
It could also lay the basis for building a campaigning and democratic organised left across the whole union.
UNIONOF COMMUNICATION HOR ENU OFFICIAL PICKET OFFICIAL PICKET
P There is a chance to lay the basis for a campaigning left in the CWU