Royal Mail pension cut must be met with action

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/43234 ... ith+action" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The CWU union, which organises postal workers, has warned Royal Mail that its members could strike. This follows reports that bosses plan to attack workers’ pensions.

Royal Mail said last week it wants to close the workers’ pension scheme and replace it with a worse one in 2018.

CWU deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger said, “The CWU in Royal Mail will use every means at our disposal, including strikes, to defend our members’ future pensions”.

The CWU effectively agreed a five-year no-strike deal with bosses in 2014 after Royal Mail was privatised.

The deal, set to be reviewed in 2019, has hamstrung union activists fighting the effects of privatisation. A national strike would effectively mean breaking that deal—and rightly.

Meanwhile CWU members at the Post Office were balloting for strikes over similar attacks on their pensions, as well as privatisation, office closures and job cuts. The ballot was due to end on Friday.

Attacks on workers in both sectors are the result of privatisation.

Post Office workers should vote yes for strikes. And CWU leaders should be prepared to break the Royal Mail no-strike agreement and follow through on their threats for a national ballot.