Talk of Royal Mail deal - but keep up the strikes Resumes

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://socialistworker.co.uk/news/talk ... e-strikes/


Many CWU union members are wary of trusting the bosses and want more coordinated action

Royal Mail workers struck on Thursday of this week, as union leaders showed signs of moving towards a deal with bosses.

There was a boisterous mood of confidence on some of the biggest picket lines, as strikers felt their action was pushing bosses towards making concessions. Their CWU union general secretary Dave Ward had told them earlier this week that “things are shifting” after bosses agreed to new talks.

But strikers were also wary of trusting anything from Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson. Steve, a rep at the Balham delivery office in south London, told Socialist Worker, “The appetite for the fight is still very strong. We’re cautiously glad that the talks are ongoing.

“People are feeling possibly a bit more upbeat, but it’s too early to tell what will happen. Everything is being kept close to their chest at the moment. Everything that happens is behind closed doors, so we don’t know what’s being said but we know there’s been movement.”


Workers are fighting after bosses imposed a 2 percent pay increase on them earlier this year. With inflation running close to 12 percent, that’s a massive real-terms pay cut.

Thompson also wants to push through a sweeping assault on working conditions. These include later start times, annualised hours—shorter days in the summer and longer in the winter, depending on workload—and Sunday working.

They also want to bring in new starters on worse pay and conditions. It’s part of a plan to break up Royal Mail and turn it into a parcels courier company similar to Amazon or DPD.

One striker at Pensbury street in south London told Socialist Worker, “I joined the job 31 years ago. It suited my life at the time. And now they suddenly want to change my times. I get one day off, now they tell me I’ve got to work a Sunday. It doesn’t fit in with my work-life balance.”

He added, “I can’t see how you can tell someone that the workload is low today, don’t come in. That’s what they do in other industries—that’s what they think we’re going to turn into.”

Many workers also hope for a substantial pay increase—though there are different ideas and feelings about what people might settle for. Union leaders expect Royal Mail to make a new pay offer next week.

Steve Goss, a striker at Pensbury street, told Socialist Worker, “With the cost of living, I would have thought we’d want at least 10 percent in my mind. They’re saying next year inflation could be up to 20 percent. We’re forever going to be way behind.”

And Steve in Balham said, “Everybody has different ideas of what they want. But we hear that barristers get a 15 percent pay rise. We hear that the traffic wardens around here in Wandsworth got a 12 percent pay rise after striking.

“If all these other people are getting double figure percentage pay rises then maybe that’s something that needs to be looked at.”

Ward told strikers on a picket line in south London that there were some changes union leaders would “never ever agree to.” These appeared to include later start times, ending daily deliveries, unagreed performance management and worse conditions for new starters. He also says that there are “still big gaps” between the union and bosses in negotiations. The only actual change so far is that bosses have shown is to start talks again.

But Ward has also said the union was “willing to talk” about each of bosses’ planned changes. And in a national briefing of senior reps on Tuesday, he and other union leaders refused to rule out the possibility of calling off strikes during talks.

That would be a mistake. As Ward told strikers in south London, “It’s that strike programme that has got them back round the table.”

Many strikers are wary of trusting bosses. Steve Goss said, “In my opinion, after Christmas if Thompson gets his way, he’ll steam ahead with what he wants to do.

“I’d hate for our union to be hoodwinked by him into believing he’s changed and then suddenly he switches. I don’t trust him.”

And Steve in Balham said, “They may turn round and say, things are going well, let’s hold fire. But we’ve done that in the past—we’ve shown good will and the bosses have stabbed us in the back.”

For now, Royal Mail workers are still set to strike again on Thursday of next week. They will be out together with BT and Openreach workers, also CWU members, who are also fighting over pay.

All the pay fights are stronger when united and coordinated. Mark, a striker in Clapham, south London, said workers in many other industries were facing similar battles.

It’s the same as every other industry,” he told Socialist Worker. “The RMT—they’re not getting what they want so they went on strike. It’s the same in BT.

“NHS workers I’ve heard are on the verge of balloting. There’s something wrong at the top of most of these companies where the shareholders are being a bit greedy.”

And Steve in Balham said, “I think there should be a national day of action. I know on 1 October we were out with the rail workers and the Liverpool dockers. And with the strength of anger in the country you may see more unions banding together and having more days of industrial action.

“I think that may make the government stand up and listen.”

[claystones]

I dont think theres any chance of a deal