Writing official letters

Item

Title
Writing official letters
Description
To most of us, speech comes more readily than writing, and when information has to be passed on, the obvious way of doing it is by word of mouth. The telephone has greatly widened the opportunity of conducting business in this way. But a trade unionist is well advised not to rely on this method alone. In the affairs of the heart, it may be good advice never to put anything in writing. The reverse is often true in business. What is written, especially if carbon copies are kept, survives as a record. The record remains as a reminder of what has happened, and a check in the event of a dispute. It is only too easy during transactions which may take some months, to forget exactly what had happened at any one time. Written records will provide exact information, not only about what happened but — what is often as important — when it happened. When it is remembered that the actions of shop stewards and branch officers may be vital evidence in a Court of Law, as for example in the pursuit of claims for damages on behalf of union members, exact records are extremely important. For this reason, a duplicate copy of letters provides branch officials with lasting evidence of their own communications. All branch letters, therefore, should be written in duplicate. If letters are typed or written in an interleaved correspondence book, it is easy to make carbon copies. But even if letters are hand written on loose sheets, ordinary carbon paper will make clear copies providing a fountain pen with a fairly hard nib or a bail-point pen is used.
Subject
Format
pdf
Language
English
Type
text
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10962/162021
Archive
Cory Library for Humanitites Research
Provenance
The item is held at the Cory Library for Humanities Research, Rhodes University, on behalf of the Labour Research Service
Extent
19 pages
Rights
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
Rights Holder
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
Use/re-use
The materials are made available explicitly for research and educational purposes. Any use of these materials must be cleared with the Labour Research Service.
Item sets
General Materials

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