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Communication Workers its 160,000 members in the postal service for strike action over their national pay claim. At the same time London postal workers are being balloted over London weighting
The post has been an area where a lot of unofficial industrial action has taken place over recent years and workers are dissatisfied both with pay levels and with the ongoing speed-ups and bullying management they face. It is certainly a realistic prospect to hope for 'yes' votes in both ballots.
The national ballot closes on September 17 and action could start as soon as the following week. Clearly a national strike in the post would pose yet another challenge to a beleaguered Blair, especially if it is in progress when Labour Party conference starts at the beginning of October.
The national dispute stems from the fact that management have offered a 14.5% pay deal over eighteen months - with a whole ball of string attached and with in fact only 4.5% guaranteed. The union's claim was for 8%. Royal Mail claims that it cannot afford to pay more and that the deal will cost £340m annually. They claim to have almost gone bankrupt and to have lost £61 I million last year alone.
On London weighting postal workers are looking for 64,000 for everyone. Royal Mail's paltry offer of a £300 increase would only go to a section of those working in postal services in the capital.
CWU Deputy General Secretary Dave Ward, writing in The Sun, points out that Royal Mail's new Chief Executive Adam Crozier, "picked up an instant incentive of £57,000 for his first two weeks in the job. Deputy Executive chairman Elmar Toime pocketed £28,000 after his first month That's on top of their 500,000 annual salaries and before they have proved their worth." --..
But the issue of pay isn't the only one involved here. Royal Mail say the deal can only go through if 30,000 jobs go - which is part of the introduction of a single delivery. This is one of the areas where there is a contradiction in the WU leadership's approach. They are talking left over the pay deal, but the union has in fact already agreed to the new delivery system - weakening their fight to save jobs.
Postal members are also concerned that their Executive delayed sending out the ballot papers for several days this week -instead going to meetings at ACAS which all parties knew would be pointless. They seemed to be more concerned to play to the cameras than to gear up the membership for action.
The trade union movement suffered a bitter blow over the sell-out of the firefighters' dispute. WU activists need to organise to ensure this dispute doesn't go
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nee September 2003|
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