strike breakers

[marky]

heard from a few people in my delivery office that some postmen and women are not going to go out the gate when the big yes vote comes, how sad, these are the ones who sit back and let the rest of us fight there battles and when the fight is over and we have kicked royal mails ass will have a cheek to hold there hands out for the benefits the rest of us members fought hard for.
its time they either fight like the rest of us or get to hell out of our union,

should the union now be kicking these strike breakers out.




marky...

[Big Daz]

proably be illegal

[DirtyHarry]

Daz is probably right , but there's nothing wrong in any rep advising strike breakers who are in the union, to do the
honourable thing and come out of the union.

On the other hand , there won't ever be that many who will turn their backs on their colleagues , send them to Coventry , let them
remain in the union , at least the union will still get these people's dues, and workers in individual offices will have dispensed their own
brand of justice.

A tricky situation which would have to be tactfully handled.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

It does seem strange though that when in a Union you can ignore its recommendations (if thats the right word) which have been voted on, without any comeback whatsoever.

Probably a hangover from the anti-union days of the mad witch (Thatcher).

[DirtyHarry]

I think you're dead right there , TrueBlueTerrier. I don't think there was ever any pussyfooting with strike breakers
before that old bag put in an appearance.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I know its probably not on put I'll put this out for comments.

Could RM offer union members a separate deal from non union members, and if so would this help or hinder us.






(at least if they did membership would go up and the union would get stronger).

[DirtyHarry]

That's an interesting thought , and although it would almost certainly usher in a two-tier workforce , I don't think it would damage the
CWU. In fact , as you've already stated , membership would more than likely increase. After all, who would RM be more likely to
offer a better deal to ?............. The handfull outside the union with nothing to bargain with ?................ Or, the majority of the workforce
who are members of the CWU, and in the face of a poor deal, have the bargaining power. By bargaining power, I mean the
withholding of labour , IE: industrial action being threatened if a better offer isn't found.

I know which group I'd rather be in.

[devonroyal]

That's an interesting thought , and although it would almost certainly usher in a two-tier workforce , I don't think it would damage the
CWU. In fact , as you've already stated , membership would more than likely increase. After all, who would RM be more likely to
offer a better deal to ?............. The handfull outside the union with nothing to bargain with ?................ Or, the majority of the workforce
who are members of the CWU, and in the face of a poor deal, have the bargaining power. By bargaining power, I mean the
withholding of labour , IE: industrial action being threatened if a better offer isn't found.

I know which group I'd rather be in.

I think that is very dangerous, I could see Royal Mail offering non-members more to start with , so it undermines the CWU, then s**t on them l8r.

[DirtyHarry]

I see where your coming from, Devonroyal. We have about 4 non members in our office out of a total of 70.
If RM said one day,
"Right , there's going to be a £11 rise in basic pay for all the nice chaps not in that dastardly union , and sod all for those that are
members , our rep would immediately say , because that's the kinda guy he is, bless his little cotton socks , right everybody out, and
66 posties would effectively bring the office to a grinding halt. No doubt either that this would happen in other offices in our district
where the ratio of CWU members to those not members is something like 8 to 1. The slime could try , then would cry , then wouldn't
try it on again, ever.

This of course is all hypothetical , and highly unlikely , as I think it's illegal for an employer to discriminate against a worker purely
because they belong to a union.

I hope !

[Big Daz]

Ive got 1 non member now in my office a old timer with years of expereince who quit the CWU rightly or wrongly. Dontknow why but obvisouly he is dissillusoned.

Still hes been about long enough to know he will be coming in on his own!

[Carnoustie]

Do you consider someone who's not in the union who comes in to work during a strike (under threat of dismissal if they don't) to be a scab ?

We have more than a few non-Union members in my office. Some never joined the union, but some have principled reasons as to why they left the union.

After the narrow 'no' vote in a national ballot three (?) years ago, some unofficial action started at an office in Kent, due to some management bullying issues, if I remember rightly. It started to spread to other offices, and the unit rep at our office tried to get us out in support of those guys, but was not very forthcoming about the detail of why we should come out and exactly what had happened. Anyway, we had a shift meeting, a vote was taken, and the show of hands was about 6:1 against going out. Now the rep didn't like that at all, as he was under pressure from higher up the CWU to get us out, and he started verbally abusing people. He then went out on the gate, taking the small minority of people with him, and our office was then deemed as being out on strike, even though most people contined to work. As you can imagine, there is no unity in our office now, and I honestly can't predict what will happen if there is a Yes vote and the first strike day comes around. Some ex-members have been quite open about having resigned from the union, but there are others that I strongly suspect have come out, but just haven't shouted it from the rooftops.

Now if a 'scab' is someone who ignores the outcome of a democratic vote, and does what he wants to anyway, I ask you: how can that rep ever seriously level the 'scab' accusation against anyone who defies the strike vote, and especially people who quit the union as a direct result of the undemocratic behaviour of a senior CWU official ??

Scab is an extremely emotive word, and something I personally would not use towards ex-members who are in the position of having to come in.

I may not agree with them, but I would defend to the hilt their right to choose not to be in the union, and I personally would not subject them to the kind of behaviour that's been suggested.

[DirtyHarry]

At the end of the day, every postalworker whether they be in the union or not , are all occupying the same boat. The ferocious attacks
on our jobs , pay , terms and conditions of employment, are very real and in the event of a defeat of our union in the upcoming ballot
would become an imminent reality. When a majority of a workforce votes in favour of industrial action and the minority who didn't say,
"Boll*cks to the rest of 'em , we're going to continue working and effectively lend our support to management in their efforts to achieve
a victory over the membership", that's hard for someone like me to understand & comprehend. Myself personally , I could never in a
million trillion years abandon my colleagues, my friends , my comrades , or in anyway shape or form do anything that would give the
impression that I wholeheartedly support what RM want to achieve. Remember , if we the membership unite together nationally as a
formidable union, and force Leighton & Crozier back to the negotiating table to negotiate a decent, honourable pay rise , the complete
restructuring of RM's ultimately disastrous business plan , it won't just be the membership , who through sacrifice possibly in the form
of strike action, will benefit. Those who would have turned their backs on their colleagues , working and recieving full pay ,while their
colleagues had the guts , and the determination to make the sacrifices needed to force RM into a climbdown , they, the strike breakers , would
benefit also. It's just not right , it's plain wrong , and strike breakers must face reality , if by abandoning colleagues they decide they will have
their cake and eat it , that there maybe consequences for such selfishness. And before you say it , NO POSTALWORKER , NO
POSTALWORKER, CAN AFFORD TO LOSE MONEY , that can in no way be used by strike breakers as a defence. NONE OF US WORK BECAUSE
WE LOVE IT, OR BECAUSE WE WANT TO, BUT BECAUSE WE NEED TO.


As for the incident at your office 3 years ago , without knowing all the facts I wouldn't like to comment.



VOTE FOR A FUTURE, VOTE YES.

[i love mail sort]

A scab in our office is someone who works their day off

[BOB]

HI
I AM FAIRLY NEW TO THE JOB AND AM WORRIED ABOUT MY POSITION WITH THE STRIKE LOMMING ,I AM NOT IN THE UNION SHOULD I STAY AT HOME IF THERE IS A STRIKE OR WOULD THAT BE ABCENTE WITHOT LEAVE AS A NON UNION MEMBER?

[DirtyHarry]

You've nothing to worry about, mate. Tomorrow, get your rep to get you a form to join us , and whatever else
you do , STICK WITH YOUR MATES !

Good luck.