David (Dave) Ward (born 12 July 1959) is a British
trade union leader and General Secretary of the
Communication Workers Union (CWU), which was formed through the merger of the
Union of Communication Workers
The Union of Communication Workers (UCW) was a trade union in the United Kingdom for workers in the post office and telecommunications industries.
History
The union was founded in 1919 as the Union of Post Office Workers (UPW) by the merger ...
and the
National Communications Union in 1995. The CWU is the largest trade union in the United Kingdom for people working in the Postal and Telecommunications industry with over 180,000 members. Ward is a co-chair of
Stand Up To Racism
Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is a British anti-fascist group.
Its joint secretaries are Weyman Bennett and Sabby Dhalu, formerly of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). Its chair is Steve Hart of Unite the Union and its assistant secre ...
.
Trade union career
Born in Lambeth, London Ward joined the Post Office as a
Telegram boy in 1976 after leaving school and quickly became an active
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
member. He became a member of the Tooting Branch Committee of the CWU in 1981. Ward was elected as Branch Secretary in 1982. Following the re-organising of the Union's Branch structure in 1992 he was elected Branch Secretary of the London South West Branch. In 1995 he became London Regional Secretary and in 1996 was elected London Divisional Representative. He played a leading role in the 1996 National Postal Dispute, which involved eight days of 24-hour strikes over an extended period and eventually forced
Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga
, logo = Royal Mail.svg
, logo_size = 250px
, type = Public limited company
, traded_as =
, foundation =
, founder = Henry VIII
, location = London, England, UK
, key_people = * Keith Williams ...
to drop their plans to introduce 'team working'.
In 2000, he was elected onto the Union's National Executive and in 2001 he became National Officer for the Outdoor Department (Deliveries and Collections). Dave was elected as the CWU Deputy General Secretary in June 2003, dealing with a major London dispute in 2003 and national disputes in 2007 and 2009. In 2015, he was elected as the union's General Secretary, defeating the incumbent,
Billy Hayes.
Ward has participated in the 'Enough is Enough' campaign, fighting for worker's rights.
Labour Party
Ward is a member of the
Labour Party and served as the CWU's representative on the
Labour Party's National Executive Committee but decided to step down from the role in 2007 because he believed it conflicted with the interests of the Union's members. Dave remains a critical member of the party particularly over the issues of the Post Office/Royal Mail privatisation and liberalisation.
In September 2015, Ward endorsed
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's
campaign in the
Labour Party leadership election. He said: "I am delighted to announce that the CWU will be backing Jeremy Corbyn MP to be the next leader of the Labour party. There are no quick fixes for the
Labour Party, but there are some easy decisions, and choosing Jeremy as its leader should be one of them We think that it is time for a change for Labour. The grip of the
Blairites
In Politics of the United Kingdom, British politics, Blairism is the political ideology of Tony Blair, the former leader of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister between 1997 and 2007, and ...
and individuals like
Peter Mandelson must now be loosened once and for all. There is a virus within the Labour party, and Jeremy Corbyn is the antidote."
In September 2016, Ward spoke at the Keep Corbyn rally in Brighton in support of
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
's
campaign in the
Labour Party leadership election.
Personal life
Ward is married with four children. His hobbies and interests include football and music. He is a
Chelsea Football Club
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. The ...
fan and likes a wide range of music and plays the blues guitar.
References
External links
CWU Officers – Dave Ward
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Dave
1959 births
Living people
General Secretaries of the Communication Workers Union (UK)
Politicians from London
Labour Party (UK) officials
British socialists
People from Lambeth
Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress