Careful about criticising postal workers

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.newstatesman.com/200710120002

Paul Donovan examines the issues behind the postal strike and warns if the railways are anything to go by privatisation could mean a worse run more costly service

Does anyone remember postman Roger Annies, who rose to fame when he was suspended by Royal Mail for telling his customers how to avoid having junk mail delivered to their homes.

There was a great outcry in support of Annies, especially from some of those same newspapers who now condemn the Communication Workers Union for its refusal in the present dispute to accept worse terms and conditions for its members.

Parroting Royal Mail management they accuse the CWU of restrictive practices and standing in the way of progress toward more flexible working. This is ironic given that at the time of the Annies case, the CWU was busily pushing ahead, promoting the delivery of junk mail. It defended Annies against oppressive management methods but all the same argued the business case in the workplace for delivering junk mail.

The Annies/junk mail case illustrates how the union - in one of the few remaining nationalised industries - has been forced to not just defend its members' interests but also to promote the business in its present publically owned form.

RM management under Chairman Allan Leighton has effectively been stripping down the business over the past few years ready for private provision of the public service. The former ASDA chief's supine attitude toward liberalisation, offering very little resistance to the opening up by government regulator Postcom of the UK market a full three years before any other European country, did not suggest an unyielding belief in the merit of the publically run service.

The market was duly completely opened up in the UK at the start of 2006, encouraging new private sector companies to cherry pick the profitable business post while not picking up the universal service obligation - binding on RM - to deliver the loss making residential mail.

This further undermined the public service provider which previously had been able to subsidise the loss making residential side with the profits made on business mail. Leighton, Royal Mail Chief Executive Adam Crozier and the RM board have no interest in a publically owned, nationally run mail network.

The efforts of the board to introduce shares in Royal Mail for staff indicate that they would far rather the company were in the private sector.

The contradictions so obvious in the RM case crop up across the public sector where the unions are organised around nationally owned public sector industries. Public sector union Unison has been amongst the most vociferous defenders of the NHS as a publically owned and run service.

This contradictory position that the unions find themselves in can cause real problems in terms of their own organisation. As the major public services are privatised what do they do? Do they cling to the remnants of the public giant as it is destroyed in a death of a thousand cuts or do they accept the reality and recruit members in the new companies?

In the case of mail services, the unions face a dilemma as to how much energy they put into RM and how much they seek recognition with new competitors in the market like DHL, Business Post or TNT.

Another part of the communications sector provides a salutary lesson. When BT was nationalised back in the 1980s the unions put most of their efforts into securing the position with the major player in the market.

As a result the unions now have a good relationship with BT and workers there get representation and a better deal than most in the industry. However, in market terms BT has been dwarfed by other global telecoms operators like Vodafone.

This left the unions charged with taking their eye off the ball for putting less effort into organising in the new workplaces. The unions are now gradually catching up in this area but it has been a painful lesson. Essentially, the unions are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

They must represent members but are also wedded, due to practical and ideological factors, to the nationally owned publically run services. This at times forces them into a poacher turned gamekeeper role.

Unless there is a sudden turn around and return to the industrial relations architecture of the 1970s then unions will have to change their methods of approach. There will have to be a twin strategy. This will involve a more federal approach, seeking to get a foothold in as many different companies as possible operating in their sector while at the same time not giving up on the fruits offered by a declining monolithic public sector employer.

As for the present dispute, those amongst the public tempted to criticise the union's position would do well to remember it is one of the few voices left defending the tenents of a publically run accountable mail service.

If government gets its way the mail service will head down the same path as the railways with tax payers eventually being forced to cough up for private companies to run a worse more costly service - all in the name of neo-liberal dogma. A more progressive attitude toward the mail and other public services might be if it ain't broke don't fix it.

[prowler]

Excellent article written by someone who knows what he is talking about.
Everyone should read this.

[F0zziebear]

I can tell you on good authority that senior mgmt see the future of RM as being like BT.

For example, RM now has a wholesale division which mirrors identically that of BT.

BT have split their business into retail and wholesale.

The government have no interest in the long term of keeping RM a public service, as mail is now seen as just part of the communications sector. You only have to listen to what Leighton was saying a few weeks ago to underpin this thought.

BT is now a trimmed down service. Is it as good as or better than when it was publically owned? I honestly am not sure, but to suggest RoyalMail will end up like the trains, as an ill thought out piece of scre mongering that is not underpinned by rational argument.

These so-called journalists sit at a computer screen driven by the need to write a certain number of words, and then press send. OK, so that is pretty much what I has just done!

The point is the person to speak to is the Strategy Director for Royal Mail (a little known person who is Crozier's left hand person) his name is Alex Smith. He is there specifically to outline the future options and way forward.

F0zz

[dvbuk55]

Excellent article written by someone who knows what he is talking about.
Everyone should read this.

You're absolutely right and it goes in some part to explaining the stance Ward and Hayes take. There should be a clear line about recruiting from within the ranks of our competitors the nex thing you know Hayes and Ward will be on the board of RM.

[jafferpants]

If government gets its way the mail service will head down the same path as the railways with tax payers eventually being forced to cough up for private companies to run a worse more costly service - all in the name of neo-liberal dogma. A more progressive attitude toward the mail and other public services might be if it ain't broke don't fix it.[/quote]

Isn't this what we have been telling the public all along!!!

[dvbuk55]

I can tell you on good authority that senior mgmt see the future of RM as being like BT.

For example, RM now has a wholesale division which mirrors identically that of BT.

BT have split their business into retail and wholesale.

The government have no interest in the long term of keeping RM a public service, as mail is now seen as just part of the communications sector. You only have to listen to what Leighton was saying a few weeks ago to underpin this thought.

BT is now a trimmed down service. Is it as good as or better than when it was publically owned? I honestly am not sure, but to suggest RoyalMail will end up like the trains, as an ill thought out piece of scre mongering that is not underpinned by rational argument.

These so-called journalists sit at a computer screen driven by the need to write a certain number of words, and then press send. OK, so that is pretty much what I has just done!

The point is the person to speak to is the Strategy Director for Royal Mail (a little known person who is Crozier's left hand person) his name is Alex Smith. He is there specifically to outline the future options and way forward.

F0zz

There's a phrase I've heard before.

Well in a nutshell do we make as much money as we did pre-Leighton/Crozier and are we providing as good a service?

[norbet colon]

If government gets its way the mail service will head down the same path as the railways with tax payers eventually being forced to cough up for private companies to run a worse more costly service - all in the name of neo-liberal dogma. A more progressive attitude toward the mail and other public services might be if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Isn't this what we have been telling the public all along!!![/quote]

It actually costs more money in subsidy to run the fragmented railway system .

The New Liebour Government has been spending more money on a less efficent railway which has no real control. There 's plenty of money spent on quangos that are merely paper tigers, to "regulate ".

Safety has been seriously compromised

Major Capital Projects take far longer than under BR and cost more money as a result

The Cooperative ethos of the industry has been destroyed and replaced by a culture of competition & blame

Vital Expertise has been lost for ever


Watch out for management buy outs within RM ! ,if buyouts & restructuring plans can be made whilst trying to run a service on BR , RM's Board & Senior Managers are capable of it . Leighton could quite easily get venture capitalists to buy majority shares .

BR Board Directors bought up all the engines and coaches for £120,000 each , those assets were bought up by Porterbrook -that's HSBC Bank ??? for £526 million then resold to Stagecoach for £300 million more .

Maintenance & Renewal is stitched up between Balfour Beatty , Tarmac & Mowlems . The functions were split to break the RMT Unionised Staff. The operating companies are mostly big bus companies like Stagecoach , Last Group , Betterbus + the likes of Beardy Branson etc

Even with those prices Stagecoach is on a winner as all the rentals to the Train Operating Companies were guaranteed . Stagecoach made £63 million profit in six months on a turnover of £136 million .


We've had Railtrack go bankrupt because it works against everything else in the system but it kept getting bailed out . GNER is part of European Sea Containers , I think the CEO used to be a tankie then turned arch Thatcherite . They actually pay a premium to New Liebour to cherry pick the best route on the East Coast .

Prescott made a lot of noise initially, but that's all it was !( typical politican ? ) from 1997 onwards , he genuinely hated the Operating Companies but he got a RMT renationalisation bill defeated .B-Liar was justifiably terrified of the roads lobby -remember the fuel crisis and The Daily Flail is quite capable of turning out lurid headlines, and of course His Toniness had to be seen to be the friend of big business.


I believe Byers brought Leighton in to split the functions and of course his union busting expertise from Walmart .

Just the ramblings from a ex member of NUR/RMT for nine years . Sick to death of bloody trains when I left .