Traditionally the Union Office was often in a forgotten corridor, as rooms in an Area Office were in high demand for Sales, Billing and Management.




Scan: POEU - Post Office Engineering Union magazine October 1969

• In 1915 the Post Office Amalgamated Engineering and Stores Association was formed by the merger of the Post Office Engineering and Stores Association with the Amalgamated Society of Telephone Employees.
• The name, Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) was first used in 1919.
• In 1925 it absorbed the Post Office Telegraph Mechanicians' Society.
• In the early 1980s, it was recognised that future strengths could be gained by the merger of the engineering and clerical unions as the demarcation between job functions began to converge. e.g. clerical staff operating visual display units wasn't dissimilar to engineering staff operating visual display units.
• So in 1985 the POEU amalgamated with the Postal and Telecommunications Group of the Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) to form the National Communications Union (NCU).
• In January 1995 the Union of Communication Workers and the National Communications Union merged to form the Communication Workers' Union.

• The Civil Service Clerical Association was formed in 1921 following the amalgamation of the Civil Service Clerical Union and the Clerical Officers Association.
• The name, Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) was first used in 1969.
• Before then, the Post Office was a government department and part of the Civil Service.
• In 1973 the Ministry of Labour Staff Association amalgamated with the CPSA.
• By 1985 it was no longer appropriate for the Postal and Telecommunication Group of the CPSA to be associated with the Civil Service and so the P & T Group joined with the POEU to form the National Communications Union (NCU).
  

• The Union of Postal Workers was formed in 1919 from a merger of the Postman's Federation, the Postal and Telegraph Clerks' Association and the Fawcett Association.
• Name changed to the Union of Communication Workers (UCW) circa 1981 (?)
• In January 1995 the Union of Communication Workers and the National Communications Union merged to form the Communication Workers Union.

• The National Communications Union (NCU)  was formed in 1985 from the merger of the P & T Group of the CPSA with the POEU.
• In January 1995 the Union of Communication Workers and the National Communications Union merged to form the Communication Workers' Union.
  

• From 1907, the Controlling Officers Association, lead to the federation of Controlling Officers and Supervisors which was established in 1918.
• In 1951 an amalgamated Managerial and Supervisory Union was established as the Association of Controlling Officers (ACO).
• By 1959 the Postal Inspectors' Association had transferred its membership to the ACO.
• In 1969 when the Post Office became a Public Corporation, the name was changed to the Post Office Management Staffs' Association (POMSA).
• Over the years, further recruits were gained from parts of the SCPS, ICPS and Postmasters' Association.
• In 1981, the name Communication Managers' Association (CMA) was adopted to reflect the fact that the union continued to represent staff in both the Post Office and British Telecom.
• In the early 1990s, switchroom supervisory staff in British Telecom transferred to the more appropriate, BT based managerial union, the Society of Telecom Executives.
• By 1997, further changes were inevitable as the Post Office faced the challenges of increased competition and continuing liberalisation of the marketplace.
• Thus on 8th May 1998 the CMA became a fully fledged autonomous section of the MSF.

• MSF represents employees from all areas of work, including IT professionals, managers, the voluntary sector and the clergy, as well as the more traditional union workplaces like the NHS (National Health Service), manufacturing and craftspeople.
• 8th May 1998 the CMA became a fully fledged autonomous section of the MSF, representing some 14200 managers, supervisors and executives within the British Post Office.
• On 1st January 2002, Amicus was formed by the merger of MSF and the AEEU (Amalgamated Engineering & Electrical Union). Mergers with Unifi and GPMU followed and...
• In 2007, Amicus merged with the Transport and General Workers Union to form 'Unite the Union'.

• The Society of Post Office Executives.
• Name changed to the Society of Telecom Executives (STE) circa 1981.
• In the early 1990s, switchroom supervisory staff in British Telecom transferred from the CMA.
• 1st January 2000, name changed to Connect.
• 1st January 2010, Connect merged with Prospect, the union for managers and engineers.
  

On 1st October 1981, Post Office Telecommunications officially became British Telecom a separate corporation from the Post Office. It was the intention to sell off, British Telecom, and take it out of the public sector. All of the main unions ran a joint campaign in an attempt to maintain 'public service' rather than 'private profit'.