Strikes are a means to an end against Po privatisation

[TrueBlueTerrier]

‘Strikes are a means to an end’ against Post Office privatisation – CWU’s Billy Hayes http://union-news.co.uk/2012/04/billy-interview/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Billy Hayes is reluctant to talk about strikes.

I thought at first it might be jealousy – all the other unions seem to be striking – but I’m assured the guarded manner of the CWU general secretary is a result of the negative, one-dimensional portayal of unions in the mainstream media.

(Pictured: Billy Hayes addresses CWU conference, Bournemouth)

But strike action is very much on the agenda of delegates at the CWU’s annual conference, particularly on the issue of privatisation of the Post Office, so it is an issue the general secretary cannot avoid.

“We will continue to fight the Communications Bill,” he declares.

“Nothing’s over ’til it’s over so we’ll maintain our opposition to it. We’ve done so for years and gained some concessions, and we’ll keep doing it.”

Will his members strike over it?

“We’re not afraid to take strike action,” he replies. “We don’t have to apologise to anyone for strike action. We’ve had lots of strikes. Strikes are a mean to an end.”

With so many other unions striking against cuts, does he feel left out of the action?

“No,” he smiles, “but I can see why people are angry. They’ve seen a real drop in living standards.

“Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said there hasn’t been a comparative drop in living standards since the 1920s.

“Workers are seeing attacks on the welfare state that are affecting them, so they’re getting concerned about their jobs, their working conditions and their future.”

But it is not just the drop in living standards and working conditions that concerns him; it is also the anticipated drop in standards of the postal service, an inevitable consequence of privatisation.

“The problem with privatisation is that bosses are more interested in providing a profit than than they are in providing a service, and that leaves everything in a mess,” he says.

“We’ve seen what happened when they privatised the Dutch and Argentinian postal services – it was a real mess – and what happened after they privatised the energy supply in this country.

“We’ve already had a glimpse of things to come with the increase of stamp prices – that’s a big increase driven by a desire to improve profitability, not improving services.”

I’m told the CWU has defeated the privitisation of the Post Office three times already, without resorting to strike action but, as the interview comes to an end, I allow my curiosity to get the better of me, and try once more to draw Billy out on the strike issue.

“We’re not frightened to take strike action if necessary,” he concedes. “I think what’s likely to happen is what always happens when you privatise a workforce: you see more stress on them, more tension, so you see more disputes. At the end of the day, whether we strike or not, the CWU will be there representing our members.”

So, an admission of sorts but, most importantly, a warning to the government that the union will not sit idly by and watch the Post Office be thrown to the open markets.

[Danelectro]

just to clarify,is it still the case that it would be illegal to take strike action to stop any takeover bid/privatisation of Royal Mail?

Yeah the keep the post public will no doubt be rolled out in some form over the next year or so but it seems like tokenism when the CWU are asking for the Labour party to make it party policy to renationalise the postal service.Billy New Labour Party shat all over the postal service and took our money at the same time.Peter Mandelson?remember him?

There seems to be no soul searching or admittance of any mistakes by the CWU leadership,The line at the time of the BT2010 vote as bawled out by the likes of Bob Gibson was that they had to make 'the deal' sometime and now was the right time,but the right time for who? Two years later the privatisation bill has sailed through parliament,union membership has dropped and its ability to defend the postal service has all but disappeared and none of the major parties paint anything but a gloomy future of paying off the debt and retiring at 80 etc Was making a 3 year deal not just total bad judgement?was it really impossible for a well organised CWU with a well informed membership not to come out of the strike in a better position than we are now?