The Postal and Telecommunications Workers' Union was a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

representing communication workers in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The union was founded in 1923 when the Irish Postal Union merged with the Irish Postal Workers' Union and the Irish Post Office Engineering Union (IPOEU), and was initially named the United Postal Union. The union immediately affiliated with the

Irish Trades Union Congress The Irish Trades Union Congress (ITUC) was a union federation covering the island of Ireland. History Until 1894, representatives of Irish trade unions attended the British Trades Union Congress (TUC). However, many felt that they had little i ...

, and from the start worked closely with the British

Union of Post Office 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 ...

. The IPOEU was unhappy with the merger arrangements, and so it withdrew early on, to continue an independent existence. The union was soon renamed as the Post Office Workers' Union (POWU). From 1924 to 1957, the union was led by

William Norton William Joseph Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from ...

, who for much of this time also served as leader of the Labour Party. Under his leadership, the union steadily grew, from 4,000 members in 1930, to 7,302 in 1960. The small Transferred Officers' Protection Association amalgamated with the union in 1930, and the Post Office Clerical Association joined in 1958. The union became the Postal Telecommunications Workers' Union in 1984. In 1989, it merged into the Communications Union of Ireland, which renamed itself as the Communication Workers' Union.

General Secretaries

:1924:

:1957: William Bell :1966: Maurice Cosgrave :1973: Terry Quinlan :1985: David Begg

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1923 Trade unions disestablished in 1989 Defunct trade unions of Ireland Communications trade unions 1923 establishments in Ireland 1989 disestablishments in Ireland