What is going on with our much-maligned postal service at the moment? The on-going dispute at the Royal Mail is threatening to turn very nasty indeed, particularly with the busy Christmas seasonal period coming up.
Postal workers from the CWU union have voted by a majority in favour of strike action over worsening job security and working conditions. What began as a series of separate local disputes has now turned into a big one… a national stoppage, even for 24 hours, would be bad news for people who rely on the postal service for delivery of letters, cheques and even notification of vital appointments.
This dispute will also cause political problems, mainly for the Labour government. They are trying to distance themselves from a situation in which they have caused in the first place, particularly, in using EU law to allow commercial companies to cherry-pick the best parts of the service while forcing Royal Mail’s management to pursue a policy of stamp price rises, service cuts and job losses. Their botched plans for a wholesale sell-off of the Royal Mail has been postponed for the future (The Conservatives will almost certainly put these plans in practice when they get elected next year, in a different form).
When you lose your job, fail to keep an appointment for an operation in hospital, or even see your small business go under because your letters fail to arrive on time, you know who’s to blame for this sorry state of affairs.
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