It took about 250 years to create what we still call The
Post Office.
No thanks to the Rupert Murdochs of the 17th century, of
course. It’s just one example of how the state laid the basis for rising capitalism.
The King’s very own Royal Posts was opened up to the public
to send mail. The post offices themselves gradually built up to facilitate the
mail service.
A century or so later, like a lot else, this basic bit of
social infrastructure is under threat from New Labour’s free market dogma.
No reason to worry though, we’ve got proper parliamentary
democracy in the 21st century. ‘The Queen’ is a TV programme. The people are
sovereign, so their will rules, we are told.
Unfortunately the 4 million people who signed Britain’s
biggest ever petition in defence of their local post office last year, wouldn’t
agree.
Like another recent record breaking protest, over Iraq, the
government clearly intends to ignore them.
The Department of Trade and Industry’s so-called
‘consultation’, announced in December, means 2,500 local post offices will
close by the end of 2009. That’s just for starters.
Not that New Labour should take all the blame. Under the
Tories 3,500 post offices closed, so their current protests are entirely
hypocritical.
All the main political parties agree that the run down of
the post office network is inevitable given changing technology and ‘consumer
preferences’.
Huge amounts of subsidy, like £2bn since 1999, are quoted to
‘prove’ the government case for closures.
The opposition, headed by the National Federation of
Sub-Postmasters, who are basically self-employed franchisees, bases its case
mainly on the grounds of harm to rural communities, the poor, the elderly and
disabled.
There is undoubtedly a social and economic importance beyond
the bottom line.
The National Pensioners’ Convention, for instance, is
absolutely right to oppose the closure programme and the way the government has
imposed policies like direct payment of pensions and benefits.
Let alone pensions, there are lots of people who would still
prefer to get their wages in cash. But we are forced into the banks – if
they’ll be so kind as to open you an account these days – at a price.
The truth is that there’s nothing inevitable about the way
technology or consumer behaviour changes under capitalism. They are shaped by
the profit system.
The ‘choices’ we hear so much about from New Labour
ideologues are in fact driven and constrained by the class nature of our
society.
Sure, a lot of us can get a cheap ticket to the sun these
days. But can we afford to stay beyond our purchased holiday? No way. Back to
work. Wage slavery rules.
And as the biggest single economic actor, state policy plays
an important role too. Indeed crucially, in relation to The Post Office.
Instead of developing the largest retail chain in Europe
(with 24m customers) as a provider of public services and major retail player,
governments failed to invest, allowed it to run down, franchised and closed branches.
There is a lot of hot air from the DTI about introducing
Outreach, financial and telecomm services. But in practice there has been a
salami tactic to dismember and privatise, with the mail business the final
prize.
The Post Office has been endlessly ‘reorganised’ since1986,
to this end.
First the Tories split it into three: Royal Mail Letters,
Royal Mail Parcels and Post Office Counters (which then became a limited
company owned by the Post Office).
From 1989 nearly 1500 Crown Offices were turned into agency
offices, leaving only 500 in city and town centres still in public ownership.
In 1990 the Girobank, which with the huge post office network could have been a
major player in high street banking, was sold.
In 2001 the Post Office became a Public Limited Company.
Then there was the Consignia ‘re-branding’ debacle.
At every point the post office network has been sabotaged.
£1 billion was spent developing the Horizon Automatic
computer system linking 19,000 branches, in conjunction with the Benefits
Agency. Then in 2003 the government decided to pay pensions and benefits
directly into bank accounts, seriously undermining the competitive advantage
the new system provided. And depriving sub postmasters of up to 75% of their
income.
As a sop to public opposition to ‘direct payment’ the Post
Office Card Account was set up. It is worth £1bn to PO income between 2003-10.
Though the DTI has now committed to continuing it after 2010 it will be subject
to competitive tendering, another step to privatisation.
Other blows to the Post Office were the BBC decision to take
the TV licensing contract away from the Post Office. The government plans to
open 70 new Passport Offices nationally but it has stopped the Post Office from
bidding for the contract.
Because of government failure to give them a certain future
and legal constraints on their activities, post offices have little commercial
value as businesses. £60K will be paid to sub-postmasters to give up their
business to further encourage closures.
So much for ‘joined up’ government! Whilst incompetence may
play a part, clearly the government is simply managing decline to minimise
political opposition.
The real aim is to destroy a major public asset in the
interests of big business. After 350 years this is what capitalism calls
progress.
The trade union and labour movement must put itself at the
head of this campaign and build for the battle in defence of Royal Mail:
Explain to all the different strands of opposition that the
only real solution is to replace Blair and Brown by a fighting socialist
leadership;
Re-nationalise all the privatised industries!
For workers control and management of a socialist planned
economy!
And other thing…
Privatising the Mail
A £12 million contract has just been taken from the Royal
Mail by the government.
The Department of Work and Pensions has shifted delivery of
82m pension statements and other letters to private company UK Mail.
The European Union Postal Services Directive gave legal
force to liberalisation from 1st January 2006.
But the juicy target for private companies will be business
services not your ordinary everyday letter.
In fact, to add insult to injury, these companies won’t
actually deliver business letters.
They collect them from the customer, sort them – and then
take them to Royal Mail for delivery!
You
see, the private sector is so much more efficient.
See also:
Workers’ Control at Canada Post by A CUPW Shop Steward
Thursday, 03 April 2008
