PICKETS were out in force at Stoke Newington N16 Delivery Office in Hackney on Wednesday, day one of the London postal workers three day strike action against Royal Mail and the government.
They were in high spirits and even organised a barbecue after the collapse of the Royal Mail bid to make their struggle illegal.
They were also very angry about the unions being subjected to ‘bad laws’.
CWU rep Joe Donnellan said: ‘We have had enough of doing it by the law and as was said at the meeting yesterday, there are good laws and bad laws and bad laws need to be broken.
‘We are not going to be told what we can and cannot do by judges.
‘Part of the 2007 agreement was to bring in modernisation, but what they mean by modernisation and what we mean by modernisation are miles apart.
‘From what we can gather, TNT and Deutsche Post, they were not prepared to pay the asking price (for a stake in Royal Mail).
‘Mandelson has got the right hump because his pet project is now on the back-burner, so he will do everything he can to break the union.’
He added: ‘The pensions is a major issue.
‘It’s not just about a black hole, we now have to work five years longer to get the same benefits that we had before.
‘This is such a physical job, and we should have the option of retiring at 60; that’s the nature of the job.
‘When the government are talking about a pay freeze for the whole public sector, you just can’t do that.
‘If they were to impose it, then we should all take a day of action together.’
There was a strong picket line in west London at Acton Delivery Office (W3).
CWU member Mark Hastings said: ‘They have scrapped privatisation temporarily. They are playing for time.
‘Royal Mail are not prepared to listen. We had to strike.
‘The union offered them a three-month no-strike deal and they rejected it.
‘The strike should be national.
‘It is not just London, but the whole country that’s affected.
‘It will become national because every region is being balloted now.
‘They have cut loads of jobs at Acton.
‘We have to work a lot harder.
‘They make huge profits and they keep coming back for more cuts.
‘The union and the postmen are prepared to change, but the Royal Mail want it all their way.
‘They want to derecognise the union and have part-time and casual staff.
‘Their agenda is to sell it off as a private company.
‘The government brought in so many laws so that Royal Mail can contest any ballots in the High Court.
‘We have to break the anti-union laws to defend workers’ rights.’
Ray Bateman, another picket, said: ‘The Royal Mail management are not prepared to negotiate.
‘All they want to do is slash and burn: my way or the highway.
‘I think all the postmen nationally will come out.’
Fellow picket Mr James told News Line: ‘If we stand together as a strong workforce I can’t see how they won’t listen to us.
‘We are the real workforce, not the management, who are there to dictate.
‘We are out in the rain and cold and catching cold and do all the work.
‘We are out again a week Friday, when the strike will be national, bringing out the whole of Royal Mail.’
Mitchell Morris, CWU rep for Acton Delivery Office, told News Line: ‘If Labour get re-elected while Mandelson is around they will come back to privatise.
‘The moment a Tory government steps through the door, they will privatise Royal Mail.
‘I think Royal Mail were trying it on.
‘They knew the ballot was safe and they were trying to delay it by going to court.
‘As they went so late to the High Court, they were hoping that the judge would postpone it while he deliberated on the decision and luckily for us the judge saw through it.
‘If we hadn’t won the judgement, I think it would have set a precedent for employers to challenge any ballot and put themselves in a position to dictate how and when unions ballot.
‘We are fighting for our future, the terms and conditions and our pensions.
‘Royal Mail have attacked our delivery offices with their slash and burn policies.
‘These strikes are the only way of showing that we won’t put up with it.
‘We want Royal Mail bosses to negotiate with our union properly.
‘We are totally solid here in Acton Delivery Office.’
On the picket line at Shepherds Bush Delivery Office in west London, CWU member Jan Radvan told News Line: ‘What Royal Mail want in the future will be a disaster for us and a disaster for the customer.
‘I’m 52 now and don’t want to work beyond 60 and I don’t want to work part-time hours.
‘What Royal Mail want us to do is complete our duties irrespective of whether it is our duty time and don’t want to pay overtime.
‘The only staff that are being taken on are part-time and they are being intimidated and bullied and they want blood out of a stone.
‘Royal Mail and the government want to work the “Dutch Model’’ – automation on sorting and part-time on delivery.’
On the picket line at Woolwich Delivery Office, in south-east London, CWU rep Neil Morgan told News Line: ‘I think Royal Mail’s last-minute attempt to illegalise the strike was disgusting.
‘This has now gone beyond modernisation. It’s an attempt to break the union, but this is making our members more determined.
‘I think strike action will eventually go nationwide.
‘The strike today is 100 per cent as always here.’
Gary Steward, CWU SE1 rep, told News Line on the picket line at Southwark Delivery Office: ‘Executive actions are still going ahead.
‘In fact, Royal Mail has increased their action against our members and no doubt when we go back they’ll increase the pressure even more.
‘Royal Mail is just going ahead with its business plan to achieve the budget targets, regardless of the government’s decision to postpone the part-privatisation.’
He added: ‘We won the day in the courts yesterday. It was another attempt by Royal Mail to outlaw our action.
‘Royal Mail are doing everything they can to get our action called off.
‘No law in the land should stop you withdrawing your labour – it’s the only right we’ve got.
‘The government could stop these attacks on us, but Mandelson has made it quite clear that, as far as he’s concerned, the union’s signed up to these agreements on pay and modernisation and the ball’s in the union’s court.
‘If he doesn’t want to talk to the CWU, then the struggle continues.
‘Every time we go into talks with Royal Mail management, they go away and say they’ll get back to us.
‘And eventually when they get back to us, it’s a rejection of what the union is offering, a three-month moratorium.’
A striking CWU member from Woolwich, who didn’t want to give their name, joined the picket line and said that ‘bullying’ by management was rife.
‘They’ve bullied everyone in there to get the work done,’ they alleged.
‘Our workloads have increased. For instance, they might take a walk away and put the extra work on other people’s walks.
‘There’s a lot of anger about the way the workforce is being treated.’
On the picket line at the SW1 and SW3 Delivery Office at Nine Elms, Patrick Paryag, CWU delivery rep for SW1, said: ‘Royal Mail have taken executive action.
‘They’re not talking to us at all.
‘Five jobs on days and five jobs on nights have been cut.
‘Overtime was cut by 110 hours on nights and 72 on days.
‘The action will spread more. It should spread throughout the country.
‘We will only win if we stick together.
‘What the TUC should do is call all the unions together and call a general strike.’
Lee McDonald, CWU unit rep at Kentish Town Delivery Office, said: ‘Last time we had a national agreement everything seemed to be sorted out.
‘But management seem to be able to put holes in it.
‘We need an agreement where there are no grey areas.
‘People are solid today and it’s getting more solid by the day.
‘What’s pushed people over the edge is the earnings of the Royal Mail hierarchy.
‘Managers and unit managers are getting bonuses of between £3,000-£5,000 and we got £400.
‘There shouldn’t be bonuses anyway, but if there is everyone should get the same.
‘Everyone needs a decent basic wage.
‘But this is not about money, it’s about putting in proper structures and procedures to enable us to do the job properly.
‘It is coming to national action.’
He added: ‘We’re having a march on July 17.
‘We are defending our conditions at work and for modernisation to be brought forward properly.
‘We’re also defending our pensions.
‘The government are saying they won’t fund the pensions if we don’t accept privatisation.’
John Cotier, CWU unit rep at Hampstead, said: ‘You have to fight for your jobs now. There’s nowhere else to go. We have to take a stand.’
He added: ‘We won in the courts yesterday. We will win this battle to retain a public postal service, what Adam Crozier and his cronies are trying to destroy.
‘We’ve got young people on fixed contracts with 18 months loyal service.
‘The union in Hampstead have been given notice under executive action that these people with fixed-term contracts will lose their jobs on August 13.
‘Also on the 13th, 28 duties are being taken out of Hampstead Delivery Office.
‘We have given notice to our local management that if he attempts to withdraw those people’s contracts, we will consider further industrial action.
‘There will have to be national action to defend jobs and conditions.’
He added: ‘I had a letter from Gordon Brown apologising for the sleaze over MPs’ expenses and promising that he would protect people’s jobs.
‘Here we are at a government-owned Post Office that he is responsible for, proposing sackings and putting these youngsters out on the concrete.
‘This is all coming from the top of Royal Mail.
‘The turnout today shows our members will not accept this kind of dictatorial management.’
James Davies, CWU member at Hampstead, said: ‘Personally, I think Royal Mail is taking the rise out of us.
‘It’s nothing new, but it’s a much bigger fight this time, probably the biggest we’ve been in.
‘Everybody’s job is at stake.
‘But as long as everyone sticks together we will win the day.
‘It looks like it is coming to national action.’
Eamon Slevin, CWU rep for Camden NW1 Delivery Office, told News Line: ‘We’ve got a good turnout in north-west London, 97 per cent are out.
‘People are solid. They are determined to defend their jobs and conditions.
‘A lot of members are not happy with the harassment they are getting from management.
‘It’s great that Royal Mail has lost its attempt to ban our strike.
‘That was a victory for everyone.
‘If we had lost, it would have destroyed people’s rights.
‘We’ve heard that a number of offices outside London are being balloted and it’s getting close to a national strike.’
At Tottenham, north London, CWU rep John Taylor told News Line: ‘Only one person has crossed the picket line and management have had to bring in four managers from Brentwood and Luton.
‘I would like to see a three-month moratorium and for them to get round the table.’
At Southgate, CWU rep Eray Hassan said: ‘We have 90 per cent support.
‘I am pleased we won the injunction.’
Speaking about Royal Mail, he said: ‘Their modernisation is basically cuts.
‘All this flexibility from the last strike was not agreed locally.
‘Our agreement here was signed off locally and at higher levels by Royal Mail and the CWU and now all these agreements are broken.
‘At N1, they are on a four-day.
‘This Monday they are reverting them back to five days by executive action and their Saturday will be a later finish.
‘They’re reneging on all agreements to give us more leisure time with our families.
‘They’re targeting individual offices with executive action, trying to break the union.’
