In Memoriam of Royal Mail: Why does it feel like 1984?

The answer lies not in Orwellian parallels but in far more immediate factors. In 1984 we were witnessing the beginning of the end for an industry which had been the basis for the national economic strength, namely King Coal. The coal miners had been at the centre of industrial power while they gradually sought to improve pay and conditions. The successes of the NUM had not been forgotten so that the confrontation between Margaret Thatcher’s Government and the Miners was soon seen to be a fight to the death. It was, and the major part of the industry died. This was aided by poor tactics on the part of the NUM. Why for example go on strike when coal stocks had been deliberately built up over a long period and when the warmer months were fast approaching. Add to that the growing pace of the ‘dash to gas’, and the growing imports of coal, a quick resolution of the dispute was going to be more important to the union than the government.

Nevertheless, these were lessons yet to be learnt, but the similarity between then and now lies in the generally ominous feel to the growing postal dispute. A once much-treasured institution has been gradually undermined by the withdrawal of government business from the post office counter, more and more alternatives have been provided, while the convenience of the system has been reduced by fewer deliveries and collections. Somewhere along the line the pension scheme has got into difficulties and all this is going to be changed if only the union would co-operate in the modernisation of the industry. Whilst the miners strike was made difficult by the absence of a national ballot and the breakaway Nottingham miners who went on working, the postal strike will not be without distressing scenes on the picket lines as the hapless temporary recruits are brought in to clear the backlog of mail, which according to the Post Office, will not be doing the work of postal workers. By comparison with miners the postal workers are in a better position but I suspect that this does not worry the employers or the government

It was clear from the start of the Miners Strike that the government had little interest in maintaining a national industry. In this dispute the Post Office wants to modernise the industry although a subplot may well be that if the strike drives major customers away, the field will be clear for the modern, and presumably emaciated Royal Mail, to be sold off. A modernised coal industry was presumably achieved but it is hardly in a position to come up with much needed clean power due to having been sidelined for so long. Another lost opportunity due to the short term thinking of our politicians

Today we are told that the postal workers want to strike at its busiest and most profitable time of the year and I am already picking up the sound of government muttering under its breath, ‘ the trap is set, carry on and spring it’ and then we can get rid of it all. I also get the feeling that the present Post Office management are capable of bringing this decline about since I remain to be convinced that they will be capable of managing anything else. The conclusion that this management are not up to the job of managing the dispute, let alone the Royal Mail, is hard to avoid. And why does Secretary of State for everything, Lord Mandelson of variouds places, decline to call in ACAS. He claims they will have nothing to add. Could it be that a settlement is the last thing that he wants to see?

The other day I had to return a pair of shoes to the manufacturer who seemed incapable of sending the right pair. At Locks Garage what looked like an E-Bay seller was sending a sack full of stuff. Never mind I thought, I’m going to town I’ll go to the one in High Town. Having got there I was confronted by a touch screen, a gallery of overhead Argos type progress screens and a counter with numbers over them. Eventually I realised I had to take a ticket like at the meat counter in Tesco’s and then identify the appropriate window. The place seemed packed with customers and loads of staff standing around doing nothing, apart from an ‘ambient helper’ who kept asking me questions whether I would be needing an express delivery, or other services. Since there were only two cashiers dealing with postal matters, I explained that being served would be nice. After ten minutes without any numbers budging I returned my ticket to the ‘ambient helper’ saying I would pop down to the village post office tomorrow.

All this was apparently someone’s idea of modernisation with all the gizmos, screens and lights. The fact that two members of staff would not be enough for a town centre ‘post office’ at 5 pm on a Friday seems to have escaped the modern management. How much easier it is when a courier turns up and takes away your returned goods I thought. No doubt the modernisers will have the same idea about the postal service. How much easier it will be if someone turns up and takes it in.

So its ‘Strike On’ and ‘here we go, here we go, here we go’, again.

Dacier