Managers and unions fail to sort out RM modernisation

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A depressing sense of deja vu greets the news that the Communication Workers Union, which represents most of Royal Mail's 150,000 workers, is balloting members for industrial action.

It is less than two years since the last national postal strikes over pay and proposed changes in working to eradicate what the chief executive, Adam Crozier, described as "Spanish practices", such as claiming overtime when finishing early and being asked to carry out other tasks to complete a shift. That dispute resulted in a deal between Royal Mail and the CWU that was long on good intentions ‑ such as the need for a "fresh start" in industrial relations ‑ but short on specifics.

The CWU claims that Royal Mail has reneged on its commitment to consult on further changes. Royal Mail says the unions have walked away from negotiations. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

Since the 2007 agreement, some changes – such as scrapping the second delivery – have been implemented. But postal workers still spend hours sorting most of their mail by hand before going on their rounds. Royal Mail has borrowed £1.2bn from the government to fund modernisation, to buy machines to sort the mail, more delivery vans to replace bicycles and to bring the state-owned company into the 21st century. But about half of the money has yet to be spent, with both sides blaming each other.

The unions know they are in a strong position. Royal Mail is still a monopoly, and if workers go on strike because they don't like having to do different jobs or different hours, deliveries grind to a halt all over the country. The Royal Mail's pay freeze gives the company some room to come up with incentives for staff to make changes. The only alternative would be to make recalcitrant staff redundant, which would result in the mother of all disputes – and even more undelivered mail.