Postal
workers and their unions are under attack. About six weeks ago, Royal
Mail management took executive action – meaning cuts – 40 duties
from the Mount Pleasant office and 100 from the West End delivery
centre, without any union negotiation. This was in breach of the 2007
phase four pay and modernization agreement and is just one of the
many grievances behind the recent strike action taken by Royal Mail
postal workers.
Most
postal workers, especially in London where Royal Mail makes two
thirds of its profits, are fighting back by following a rigid work to
rule regime. Bags are being weighed and anything over regulation is
left behind. Now, they finish on time and breaks are taken. At the
end of the day, any undelivered mail is returned, causing a massive
backlog of work.
On
Friday, July 17th the whole of London was on strike and the week
before there was a 3 day rolling strike. Managers were sent in from
around the country to scab and deliver the registered mail, which if
left undelivered would cost Royal Mail.
Presley
Antoine, a postal worker from the West End delivery centre, where
over 400 postmen and women work, thinks that this time Royal Mail is
out to try to smash the union full stop. From the boss’s point of
view, this is a job that needs doing, as the Communications Workers’
Union (CWU) is one of the most militant unions in the UK.
The
signs are all there. In the past two months, Royal Mail has brought
in a new team of lawyers and they have hired a union busting company
to help them do their dirty work. They have been heavy handed and
targeted the stronger union offices like the Almeida Street Delivery
Office (NDO) where 106 postal workers are employed.
On
Monday last week, the usual ratio of about forty workers to one
manager was upped to a one to one ratio. Managers were sent from
other offices to implement the tactic called ‘man to man marking’.
This means every postal worker has a manager watching over his or her
every move and, if any mistakes are made, or procedure not followed
correctly, the worker can be suspended. This was a tactic
successfully used in the 1990s against the NW1 office, the most
militant office in London to break that union branch, known as the
‘Martini Branch’ and the entire office was suspended and then
released.
Presley
said that into the 7th week of strike action and work to rule, they
have realized that management is playing hardball. They are refusing
to talk. In fact, chief executive Adam Crozier has chosen mid-crisis
to take his holiday! Presley says the workers know that the strikes
have to spread.
On
Monday, The London Divisional Committee which includes all the area
reps and branch secretaries for London met and decided to step up the
action in defense of the union contracts they have fought long and
hard for.
The
programme is:
Date to be confirmed: Delivery offices on strike
from 6am except W1, WC and EC.
Date to be confirmed: Rathbone Place
on strike.
Date to be confirmed: Mail centres (Nine Elms, Mount
Pleasant, Bow Locks) on
strike.
Date to be confirmed:
Regional Distribution Centres (Princess Royal and
Thurrock) on
strike.
(we will post the confirmed dates and details as soon as we have them)
As
of yet, only about a third of the country’s postal workers are
involved in the action and many haven’t even been balloted yet. So
far strike action has taken place in London and in 20 offices round
the country with a further 450 set to ballot soon. Royal Mail is
portraying the struggle as if it is only a London based issue.
At
a packed public meeting after a postal rally on Friday 17th
July Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Dave Ward told the meeting
that the CWU Executive will be discussing calling a National Strike.
On
his routes, Presley says support from the public is pretty good. He
delivers in a business area and has to respond to complaints by
explaining that the postal workers aren’t striking for fun, in fact
they don’t get paid when they are on strike, but are trying to
defend the service from the degenerating effects of cuts, worsening
conditions and increased workloads that, if prevented, will benefit
the customer in the end.
