Why CWU is saying “No” to Scottish independence

On the banner of CWU’s (the Communication Workers Union) Glasgow and Motherwell branch there are three words – Unity is Strength. It’s one of the guiding principles of the trade union movement, and one of the reasons I first joined a trade union years ago. It’s also the reason why I spoke in support of the CWU taking a position against Scotland leaving the UK in September at our conference yesterday.

The CWU represents 17,000 communications workers across Scotland, and close to 200,000 across the whole of the UK. They’re postmen and women, telecoms engineers and the people who keep the things like your mobile phone and your cable TV working. As a trade union we also have a proud history of working across the UK for a better deal for the people we represent.

The decision we will take in Scotland on 18th September is the most important political decision we have ever taken. It is a vote about the future of Scotland, but it will have an impact on the whole of the UK. It’s a decision that will, rightly, be taken by Scots like me, but that doesn’t mean that my union – which works in Scotland and the rest of the UK – shouldn’t take a view.

In my industry – telecoms – we work across the UK and face similar challenges in England as we do in Scotland. At CWU conference this week, I’ll be alongside delegates from every part of the United Kingdom – and we’ll discuss how we get the best deal for the workers we represent, no matter where they are from. Our arguments won’t be constrained by borders – just like the problems we are looking to solve.

This has always been how the British trade union movement has operated – fighting to raise standards and rights across the UK. Not setting workers in one part of the country against workers in another.

I was proud to support the motion at CWU conference yesterday for the union to oppose independence. I was proud for two reasons. Firstly, the referendum presents us with a fundamental choice between progressive values – the values of trade unionism – and Nationalists’ values. And I’ve never seen a political problem to which Nationalism is the answer.

Second, for workers in the CWU, the Nationalists have failed to provide any answers about how postal services and telecoms would look. Their case doesn’t add up when it comes to securing postal services in an independent Scotland, they don’t have any answers about the future of our telecoms industry and they can’t provide any certainty about the pensions of many members of my branch. The Nationalists want us to take a gamble and all we’ve got to rely on is Alex Salmond’s promises.

Yesterday, the CWU joined a growing list of trade unions backing Scotland’s place in the UK. That’s because it is now clear that independence won’t work for working people across Scotland. From the corporation tax cut for big businesses, to his refusal to sign up to a 50p tax rate, Alex Salmond is showing time and again that working people won’t win from independence. It’s time for all of us in the trade union movement to make the progressive case against independence.

John Kelly is a branch officer of CWU’s Glasgow and Motherwell Branch, and a telecoms engineer