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history |
The Union of Post Office Workers was formed in 1919. Postal workers had been actively campaigning for better pay and conditions since the 1840s, often in the face of severe opposition from employers. The first efforts to establish unions in the 1870s ended in failure but the formation of the Postal Telegraph Clerks Association in 1881 encouraged other postal workers to follow suit. In 1887 provincial postal clerks set up the United Kingdom Postal Clerks Association and the London based Fawcett Association was formed soon afterwards. In 1889 the postmen formed the Postmen's Union. Postal workers came out on strike in 1890 but failed to secure any concessions from employers. The failure of the strike led to the formation of the Postmen's Federation in 1891 which brought together workers from London and the provinces. At the beginning of the 20th century a series of public enquiries highlighted the working conditions in the postal service and in 1919 the Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association, the Fawcett Association and the Postmen's Federation amalgamated to form the Union of Post Office Workers and were joined by a number of smaller unions. A breakaway group from the Union of Post Office Workers formed the National Guild of Telephonists in 1928. In 1980 the UPW changed its name to the Union of Communication Workers and the UCM merged with the National Communications Union to form the Communication Workers' Union in 1995. |