POST and telecoms workers overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to open an academy school to “reintroduce trade unionism onto the curriculum” yesterday.

Delegates at the union’s annual conference warned that taking part in the controversial academies programme would undermine the labour movement’s opposition to privatisation.

A motion at the conference said the fact that academies do not have to follow the national curriculum opened a window of opportunity to educate kids about workers’ rights.

It said the union could “purchase or acquire an academy of our own,” and if passed, would have instructed the CWU executive to “explore the prospect of bidding for an academy.”

Proposing the motion, delegate Scott Haslam said: “What I’m suggesting is to stimulate debate — we think outside the box.

“This is an opportunity to put TU studies back on that curriculum.”

Seconding, Leeds delegate Vicki Turney said: “None of us are proprivatisation, but we now operate in the private sector.”

But York delegate Tony Pedel said the academies programme had stripped local authority schools of funds.

“We believe that money should be invested in all state education, we shouldn’t just be elitist,” he said.

“I do believe trade-union education is a fundamental part of our kids’ education, but this is not the way to achieve it.”

Executive member Tony Bouch said opening a solitary school would not advance the cause of tradeunion education and was not a good use of resources.

He stressed the opposition of teaching unions and the wider movement to the academies programme and said such a move would “bring us into conflict with existing CWU policy.”

He added: “It’s our view that academisation has been a failed experiment.”