Glasgow posties raise £6k for community with cheeky calendar

Thanks to an initiative from Glasgow Southside Strike Solidarity, Communications Workers Union members from the Victoria Road depot produced their own Calendar Girls effort, as first reported by our sister title The Herald in November.

Initially the posties had planned to use the money to bolster the CWU’s strike fund in its dispute with Royal Mail, but they ultimately decided to put the money toward local causes.

A total of £6148 was raised with £1302.65 each going to the Royal College of Nursing, Living Rent Glasgow and Milk Cafe.

The Govanhill cafe, which was set up in 2015 to empower and support women from a refugee and migrant background hosted members of the CWU, Glasgow Southside Strike Solidarity, Living Rent and the RCN for coffee and cake before the money was handed over to the various groups.

Posties joked they had been recognised in the street thanks to the calendar, which completely sold out shortly after being released.

Layla-Roxanne Hill of Southside Strike Solidarity said: “We have been able to raise awareness of the increasingly dire working conditions people are being forced into accepting for the sake of a salary and encourage people to support those undertaking strike action.

“As the Posties with the Mosties fundraiser has demonstrated, being in solidarity with postal workers through their disputes has been good for all of us, in the community and beyond. Not only did we raise over £6000, we have been able to get to know each other – beyond our jobs – and work together on creative and community projects, forming relationships and finding commonality which wouldn’t necessarily happen outwith these conditions.

“It’s through those relationships, that trust, empathy and understanding is developed, and we are able to see that issues which are affecting each and every one of us, which are part of a bigger picture and system, hurting us all. Building those connections with kindness, good humour, love and creativity is one of the ways which we can push back.”

Part of the money will go to the Royal College of Nursing, with organisers looking to ensure that the money is used in Scotland as befits the community nature of the fundraising.

Members are currently being balloted on a pay offer from the Scottish Government, with a strike mandate valid until May.

Should the offer be rejected RCN Scotland will announce industrial action, and the money raised by the postal workers will go toward the strike fund.

Graham Revie of the RCN speaks at Milk Cafe in Glasgow's Govanhill (Image: Chris Moses)

Graham Revie, chair of the Greater Glasgow branch of the RCN, was at Milk to accept the cheque and said: “The impact on all of the services that affect the public, from the RMT to the teachers to the postal workers, all have an impact on the public and I think it’s really important that we all stand together and highlight the impact these services have across communities.

“Communities survive through community effort and community resilience and the current attacks on that resilience are incredible.

“With the cost of living crisis that people are going through, everyone is feeling this – everyone.

“Salaries are not matching that and we need to stand together and support each other through what is probably one of the most critical times in modern history, especially in a community like Govanhill.

“There are areas of deprivation across Glasgow that really need support and community work and I take my hat off to the communications workers, they’ve really taken that community focus and taken it to a new place.

“It’s a fundamental reason for the formation of trade unions. Trade unions are very often depicted as the bad guys, and the government are very quick to say ‘trade union bosses’ – trade unions are their members.

Postal workers setting up outside Milk Cafe in Glasgow (Image: Chris Moses)

“This was a member activity and a member action. Very innovative, very creative, and a fantastic way of joining and gelling the community in the Southside together.”

Living Rent, the tenants' union, also received a cheque and will use the money to help its activities in Glasgow and the Southside, with Milk receiving a donation to help their community efforts which include English classes, IT workshops and kitchen skills courses.

You can support Milk here, donate to Living Rent here, and give to the CWU strike fund here.

The RCN is currently consulting members on a new pay offer from the Scottish Government. You can find out more about their work here.