As of the evening of Thursday November 5th, the CWU leadership has reached an agreement with Royal Mail bosses. In return for calling off the strikes for at least two weeks, management has agreed to 'negotiate' on a number of issues.

No concrete concessions have been extracted from management – all they have agreed to do is to talk. In return, the CWU has called off highly successful, solid strike action without consulting the membership. The progress of negotiations will be reviewed on the 16th of November and fortnightly thereafter, with the leadership not ruling out a return to strike action (as the strike ballot remains live). But the effect of the deal has been to demobilise and demoralise the membership. The CWU leadership has disarmed itself; it is up to the membership to resist this sell-out deal, and organise a rank-and-file campaign to take control of the dispute.

The new round of negotiations will take place at two levels: on a national level, talks will continue on the 'big issues' to do with modernisation of the service – and around the country, area reps will be going round workplaces to negotiate with management on the victimisations, attacks and unilateral changes that have been imposed locally. This approach is in contradiction to one of the basic tenets of trade unionism – workers are stronger when they bargain together, nationally. Holding negotiations on a workplace-by-workplace basis weakens the union's position. The union leadership has hinted that rather than a return to a national strike campaign, it may organise local strikes where negotiations fail. Such a strategy would be almost as disastrous as calling off industrial action altogether! The union should negotiate from a position of strength, and continue the national campaign of industrial action. It should draw up a clear, comprehensive list of demands, incorporating all 'local' issues, and impose these demands nationally.

The postal workers are still very strong. The strike was solid, workplaces are well-organised, and strong solidarity committees are forming. Royal Mail was under severe pressure from the strike, especially in the run-up to Christmas. The whole trade union movement is looking to this dispute. The rank-and-file of the union needs to organise a challenge to the deal. Branches and reps who oppose the deal should organise a national meeting, bringing together all rank-and-file activists who are for a continuation of strike action. This meeting should draw up a list of clear demands, and put pressure on the Postal Executive to draw up a long-term programme of strike action. This group should aim to meet regularly and constitute itself as a permanent rank-and-file movement within the CWU.

The text of the sell-out agreement is available here: http://www.cwu.org/assets/_files/documents/nov_09/cwu__1257516355_CWU-ROYAL_MAIL_Interim_Agreeme.pdf [1]