At the recent anti-racism march in London, I was asked why our union, the CWU, is holding a general secretary election just a few weeks before the country goes to the polls to choose a new government.

I explained that the timing was due to our incumbent general secretary wanting to bring forward at short notice the leadership election scheduled for 2016 — a choice that even prime ministers no longer have.

Our 200,000 members have received their ballot papers for what is going to be a pivotal election for our union — setting the course for our industrial and political strategy going forward.

I see the role of general secretary not as just a figurehead but as someone who will lead from the front, in the same way as I have led many national industrial disputes of postal workers.

And it’s also a job that needs to be totally focused on reasserting trade union values in society — not acting as a liaison officer for the Labour Party.

I see the biggest danger to workers in today’s highly competitive economy as the “race to the bottom,” in which employers are competing for business by ruthlessly undercutting pay, terms and conditions.

At the two companies where most of our members are employed — Royal Mail and BT — we continue to resist the race to the bottom by successfully maintaining our membership density, our workplace organisation and our industrial strength.

In the CWU we have to push this struggle forward, by organising right across the postal, logistics and communications sectors, taking shop floor trade unionism into the new companies emerging in our industries.

I am committed to a fundamental review of CWU structures to free up more resources on organising and recruitment.

And it’s time for a stronger and more co-ordinated effort across the whole movement to shift the balance of forces at the workplace and I will be making this argument at the TUC for an alliance of unions with a common purpose in mobilising workers to raise British employment standards, pay, terms and conditions across the country.

I’m determined to fight against austerity, the anti-union laws, against the Tory-led coalition, and against the divisive ideas of Ukip.

We do need a Labour election victory but going forward there will be no more something for nothing blind loyalty to Labour and we will only support MPs who support us.

Our movement also needs a fresh debate on Europe — a debate which puts workers’ rights first and foremost. The EU has supported austerity and liberalisation to the detriment of working people and this must change.

On the subject of equalities, my focus will be on taking equality into mainstream industrial union work and I am committed to CWU representative structures reflecting the gender, ethnicity and diversity of the membership, through sponsoring and mentoring parallel industrial roles.

Sex discrimination at work, race discrimination at work, or discrimination against gay workers are issues for the whole membership of our union and we must tackle them together as workplace issues.

I believe the CWU can grow and be an even stronger force for workers’ rights across the communications, postal and logistics industries — and a positive influence within the wider working-class movement in the period ahead.

•  Dave Ward is deputy general secretary of the CWU.