The Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It represented engineering staff in the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

, mostly working in

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...

History

The union was founded in 1915 when the Post Office Engineering and Stores Association and the Amalgamated Society of Telephone Employees merged, to form the Post Office Amalgamated Engineering and Stores Association. In 1922, following the establishment of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independ ...

, the union's Irish section split away to form the

Irish Post Office Engineering Union The Communication Workers Union is a trade union in Ireland. The union was founded in 1922 as the Irish Post Office Engineering Union, splitting from the British Post Office Engineering Union following the establishment of the Irish Free Sta ...

.John P. Smethurst and Peter Carter, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', p. 456. In 1925, the Post Office Telegraph Mechanicians' Society joined the union.Post Office Engineering Union Research Department 1887-1994
/ref> However, by 1939, membership was only 39,000. By 1983, the POEU was the twentieth largest union in the UK, with membership around 130,000. In 1985, it merged with the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the

Civil and Public Services Association The Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom, representing civil servants. History The union was founded in 1921, when the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers' Association merged ...

, forming the National Communications Union.

Election results

The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in each Parliamentary election from 1966 onwards.

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1915:

Charles Howard Smith Charles Howard Smith (17 May 1888 – 23 July 1942) was a British diplomat. Smith was educated at Winchester and Brasenose College, Oxford, before joining the British Foreign Office in 1912. He remained in the diplomatic service throughout W ...

:1938:

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

:1947: Douglas Coward :1953: Charles Delacourt-Smith :1972: Bryan Stanley

Presidents

:1915: E. W. Bennett :1921: H. A. Barclay :1924: E. W. Goodwin :1926: H. G. Hill :1933: C. T. Saunders :1934: E. W. Goodwin :1935: C. J. Connelly :1936: A. V. Games :1939: Ernie Power :1951: W. J. A. Hughes :1952: L. G. Fox :1955: W. J. Jones :1956: Stan Rosser :1970: John Scott-Garner

References

External links

Catalogue of the POEU archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Catalogue of the POESA archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick Trade unions established in 1915 Trade unions disestablished in 1985 Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Postal trade unions 1915 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-trade-union-stub