OVER 12,000 postal workers are taking strike action today, with thousands more demonstrating against continuing cuts and the executive dictatorship by Royal Mail, while scores more CWU branches ballot for strike action.
Since the government and Royal Mail were forced to shelve their plan for part-privatisation they have shown nothing but extreme hostility to postal workers and their union.
They have imposed a wage freeze, have said that the pension scheme is doomed, and intend to close a large number of Mail Centres, sacking thousands of workers in an attempt to break the CWU and casualise the industry.
Business Secretary Mandelson has arrogantly dismissed the CWU conference’s offer of a three-month no-strike agreement while the union negotiates a modernisation agreement with it, and also resolves the pensions crisis.
Postal workers up and down the country are having the same experience as workers at the Northampton Royal Mail Centre.
They say: ‘Royal Mail have in essence de-recognised the CWU and no longer feel the need to negotiate with us on change and modernisation.
‘In addition, the company has imposed a pay freeze on our members despite record profits of £321 million, they have also ceased our national bonus scheme, without union agreement – whilst their managers recently received bonuses ranging from £4,000 – £9,500 per manager. This is scandalous.’
They add that, ‘at the moment Royal Mail is imposing unacceptable change and the union is being sidelined.’
It is clear that the postal workers are involved in a fight to a finish with the Labour Government and Royal Mail.
However, they are not alone. Tens of thousands of civil servants, members of PCS, have seen their jobs being privatised away, with over 100,000 more jobs targeted for the axe.
FBU firefighters have seen the London Fire Authority set up a strike-breaking force organised by AssetCo. The Fire Authority knows that firefighters will not accept draconian changes, so the bosses are already preparing strikebreakers!
After Mandelson’s announcement that ahead is a decade of spending cuts, hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs are in the sights of the government.
No wonder Unison leader Prentis said at the Unison annual conference that he would establish a public sector alliance to fight the government and stop the destruction of the public sector.
The CWU will soon have every branch voting for industrial action. It is clear that the membership of the union wants a national strike.
The CWU leadership must do what the membership wants and call it!
It is also clear that the CWU leaders must approach Prentis, and the other public sector trade union leaders, and form a public sector alliance that will act as one to defend the public sector.
Local branches of the CWU must form councils of action in the areas with the other public sector trade unions, to forge unity of action on the ground.
Not only must a public sector alliance be formed, it must invite all those workers who want to save their jobs through the nationalisation of their industries – the GM, Corus, BA and other workers – to join an alliance for action that is stronger than the government.
Its power must be used to bring down the Brown government, to bring in a workers government that will carry out socialist policies and replace the boom-to-bust of capitalism with a planned socialist economy.
