Dear Branch Members 

As you may not be aware, I have recently been elected to the BAME Officer position within the Northern Ireland Combined Branch, As an open commitment prior to my election, I planned to write to each individual BAME member so as to make direct contact with all of you and outline how I envisage my role developing. Therefore, with this communication to you I am fulfilling that commitment I made to you and also establishing linkage between you and the Communication Workers Union. 

I would like to start and give you a little of my background within the CWU as a member and an employee of Royal Mail. I have been a member of the CWU for twenty years and my first involvement was nearly five years ago when I became a Union Learning Representative for my delivery office which is Belfast South and Central. I enjoyed the educational course aligned to the role which granted me the springboard to become more confident and now move forward as a Branch Officer. I work in Royal Mail as a Delivery Postwoman within Belfast South Central which has a solid CWU base. Unfortunately, I do recognise that some of us work in delivery offices were this is not the case. However, through this role I would hope to bridge that gap and bring the CWU to you and by doing so, making you feel a part of your Branch and your Union.

The CWU can assist you with workplace issues with the proper advice and guidance or representation. I will also be working with you in tandem with the Equality and Womens' Officers of the Branch to ensure we are there collectively to assist you with different issues that may arise within the world of work. I would like to push the equality and diversity agenda more vigorously within the Branch by way of unit / office visits and by utilising this website (cwunicombined.org.uk). Also in the future, I would like to establish a BAME sub-committee which will actively campaign for minority rights and also attend national and local rallies when the need arises to do so. I would ask you to consider becoming more involved with your branch on the issues which affect you personally and by doing so raise the awareness within the CWU that we do have a BAME section that is active and working for all. So, ask your work colleagues to consider getting involved and supporting this worthwhile section of the Branch.

The CWU today should be generally more reflective of the membership we represent and therefore the BAME Officer role will become an integral part of decision making within the Central Committee of your Branch and in turn making decision making more inclusive of all our members aspirations. This grants an opportunity for all BAME members to create Branch policy on issues such as Race Equality, lobbying Government, tackling discrimination of any kind and by doing so, playing their part in challenging the status quo within the world of work that falls short of an inclusive environment and simply does not openly support equality in the workplace.  In essence, this new role will help establish a more broader collective view of minority workers and places their aspirations at the core of everything we do within your local Branch.

Therefore, I would hope that if you have any work related issues or maybe you would like to become more active within the Branch and assist in forming our very own BAME sub-committee, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above contact details. I will of course keep you updated on all issues within the Branch and will write directly to you periodically, or if you like to drop me an email at the above email address I would be more than happy to keep you updated with all the latest news within CWU NI Combined Branch.

In closing, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this communique and affording me the opportunity to engage with you personally. I look forward to hearing from you.

Terri Harper

BAME Officer 

Northern Ireland Combined Branch - CWU