William Hayes (born 8 June 1953) is the former leader of the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Early life

Born in Netherfield

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, he attended St Swithin's Secondary Modern School on Croxteth Hall Lane (closed 1983). He later gained a Diploma in Trade Union Studies from the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. Hayes worked as a welder from 1968 to 1971, then for

John West Foods John West Foods is a United Kingdom-based seafood marketing company established in 1857, and currently owned by Thai Union Group of Thailand. The company produces canned salmon and tuna, as well as mackerel, sardine, herring, brisling, anchovi ...

from 1971 to 1973,hitch hiking in Europe for four months in 1973,and a few months on the dole before becoming a postman in 1974.

Communication Workers Union (CWU)

He became active in the CWU, and in 1992 was elected to its National Executive Committee, then four months later elected to National Officer the Assistant Secretary of the Outdoor Department. He was elected General Secretary of the union in 2001. As General Secretary for the CWU, he was one of the Awkward Squad, seen as troublesome to New Labour. Although involved in numerous disputes, both industrial and political, he was popular with Government because of continued support for Labour and his genial style. During his time in office membership of the union has fallen by due to redundancies and an ageing workforce within British Telecoms and postal service Royal Mail. In 2015, he was beaten for re-election by his own deputy, Dave Ward.

UNI Post & Logistics

He was 2010 to 2015 World President of UNI Post and Logistics – a sector of UNI Global Union. With more than 2.5 million members worldwide the Post and Logistics Sector is one of UNI's largest.

Election to Conference Arrangements Committee

In September 2017 he and Seema Chandwani were elected to the Labour Conference Arrangements Committee.

Personal life

In September 1995 he married Dian Lee in Knowsley. They have a son Niall and a daughter,Melissa.

References