Posted: 6.30pm Tuesday 6 October 2009
Bertie’s diary
This article should be read after: » Royal Mail: a battle for us all
Diary of a postal striker in the north: History lessons
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As we received texts telling us of Royal Mail’s attempts to run a major scabbing operation around the country, many of us on the picket line last week were reminded of the 1980s.
If like me, you lived through those times, you will probably remember it for the Miners’ Strike and the way that Margaret Thatcher’s dictatorship tried to smash our unions.
Parallels can be drawn between Thatcher then and the way Gordon Brown’s government is treating postal workers today – they’ve both allowed millions to be spent on breaking a union, and both installed hatchet men to do their dirty work.
Ian MacGregor was shipped in to do over the miners and close the pits, and Royal Mail chief Adam Crozier was brought in to smash our CWU union.
McGregor had his review system for the collieries that was supposedly to look at their “financial viability”, but for every review that took place a mine was closed, jobs lost and families broken.
Crozier has his review system, which is nothing but a sham name for closure. He’s closed 3,000 post offices and is now embarking on the closure of many mail centres as well.
Now Crozier, imitating McGregor, wants a scabbing operation to break our strikes.
Isn’t it time to learn a lesson from history?
Crozier’s vision of “modernisation” means cutting pay, slashing jobs and closing offices – and if we let him get away with it there will fat bonuses all around for those at the top, while postal workers will gain nothing but more financial devastation.
We have in place a legal national ballot that should ensure we are listened to. But if our union leaders fail us, we must consider further action – with or without the say so of the leadership.
The following should be read alongside this article:
» Royal Mail: a battle for us all
» ‘Let’s beat the post bosses with hard-hitting strikes’
» Unionised Royal Mail union-busters
» Solidarity appeal: Everyone must back our battle for a public service
» Massive yes vote for national post strike
Also in the Bertie’s diary series:
» Post strike diary: ‘This strike is about the manager/worker divide’
» Diary of a postal striker in the north: ‘A brilliant vote’
» Notes from a postal striker in the north: The dark lord
» Notes from a postal worker in the north: Scabs are the real turkeys
» Notes from a postal striker in the north: Sack the dimwit duo and cronies
» Diary of a postal striker in the north: The battle of the noticeboard
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