We must hope for postal peace

Oct 19 2007 Liverpool Daily Post

THE postal service is one of the few remaining industries where, when it is hit by industrial action, everyone knows about it.

Even though technology has moved forward in leaps and bounds – with mobile phones, texting, and emails – a postal strike is a salutary reminder of how much we still rely on what might be considered a quaintly old-fashioned form of communication.

The national dispute has been exacerbated by the unofficial walk-out of Liverpool’s postal workers, which has meant that, in many areas, there have been no deliveries for nearly a fortnight.

So it is doubly welcome news that workers agreed to end their nine-day unofficial strike yesterday, following on from the long-awaited breakthrough in the national dispute.

On the other hand, the issues which brought about this strike – pay, jobs and pensions – have still not yet been fully resolved, and won’t be until the union’s postal executive decide on whether to recommend acceptance of the proposed deal in a ballot of the CWU’s 130,000 members.

Thousands of Royal Mail customers across Britain have suffered from disruption since official protests by workers began in June. Meanwhile, small businesses have had to find the extra money to use alternative services.

Royal Mail has insisted it needs to modernise to survive as a business in the highly competitive mail industry, while union leaders have argued that its plans have no regard for its employees.

Areas under dispute have included pay and pensions, with the CWU saying a pay rise came with unacceptable strings attached, and the Royal Mail wanting to scrap its final salary pension scheme and raise the retirement age.

Some working practices are also under dispute, such as workers being allowed to go home before their shift has ended if they have completed their designated workload. It is in the interests of everyone that these issues are settled as soon as possible, so postal services can resume without this constant threat hanging over them.