Royal mail: Strategy needed

Submitted by Anon on 16 July, 2006 - 11:24

As Solidarity went to press, the deadlocked negotiations between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers' Union over pay looked as if they would end not with the issue of ballot papers for a national strike but with a deal. What mixture of management concessions and union capitulation this will entail remains to be seen.

If the strike ballot goes ahead and members vote yes, it will open a huge battle, one likely to decide not only the next pay deal but the future of the Post Office as well.

CWU conference in May voted unanimously for a strike ballot. This came after Royal Mail management's clear demonstration of their contempt for the union, by holding a referendum on employee share ownership - the first stage of privatisation - and then seeking to impose a 2.9% pay offer - in effect moving towards derecognising the union.

The major concession made by management is that the pay offer will not be imposed. This will not change the fact that it is a crap offer! At the same time, the last couple of weeks have seen the unveiling of new proposals for attacks, including the ending of both restrictions on and payments for adverts delivered alongside the post. Meanwhile, postal workers face major battles on issues including the working week, outsourcing and above all job losses.

Behind management's increasingly aggressive stance is a drive to move towards a fully capitalist mode of operation, based on the "Dutch model" used by TNT, with Royal Mail competing as a (private, if possible) company on the open market.

Dave Ward and the other CWU postal leaders have no clear strategy even on the immediate issues surrounding pay, let alone the bigger questions. The CWU has accepted the move towards an open postal market, opposing the privatisation of Royal Mail but failing to oppose the basic framework of rival businesses attack their workers in order to drive down costs and increase competitiveness.

The danger is that if management makes any real concessions at all, Ward and co. will either collapse or not know how to persuade the membership of the case for a fight. Reports from areas where reps have campaigned strongly for a “yes” vote are good, but this momentum could easily be lost - if, that is, the ballot even goes ahead.

A fight over all the issues facing postal workers - for a decent wage, for a 35 hour week, against the postal market - has the potential to really mobilise members. Only decisive action which presents a clear alternative to Royal Mail's vision of the future can put the union back on the offensive.

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