Company invites union negotiators to meeting – then holds conference call with wider management while meeting is underway announcing attack on workplace representation
Royal Mail, which has been making record profits while imposing a feeble two-percent pay increase on employees, has declared war on its workforce and their unions this morning and like many wars, it began with a sneak attack. As a tweet from the CWU union explains, Royal Mail management invited union negotiators to a meeting to discuss the industrial dispute and possible solutions – and then, while the meeting was ongoing, held a separate conference call with managers around the country informing them of unilateral changes to agreements, practices and even the structure for CWU members to access their union reps:
It seems that Royal Mail, emboldened by the Tories’ planned assault on workers’ rights and their unions – and, it must be said, the complete lack of solidarity shown with striking workers by Labour’s ‘leadership’ – intend all-out war against their workforce as the profit-driven ‘race to the bottom’ continues. The whole nation will suffer from this new direction in one way or many.
The CWU has asked for help getting the word out so that the public knows what is happening. Please share this far and wide.
Never in recent history has national, coordinated action across industries, sectors and societies by all people been more necessary.
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Has Sir Keir Starmer backed these bosses to the hilt yet? It’s not like him to miss the opportunity to step in and attack hardworking, law abiding UK citizens.
Looks like BlueKeef has been ordered by the Commissioners to STFU. He’s not saying much about anything just now.
The Commissioners must be working on the ‘upcoming’ Snap Ellections and then BlueKeef will open his trap to release Hell Fires on The PEOPLE, especially on the “UNDESERVING POOR”!
Despicable behaviour on the part of RM management. The hedge funds must be losing their patience and RM bosses must be fearful of losing out on yet more money via the rumoured/planned sell to the hedge funds.
Also can someone please tell me what is meant by an IR framework?
Plus how can Royal Mail dictate a new CWU Reps structure?
Thanks
“The CWU has asked for help getting the word out so that the public knows what is happening. Please share this far and wide.”
Obviously there’s no mention of any of this in the MSM. If eventually there is, it will only be to misinform, disorientate, disorganise and disable.
Yes with Tory Neo-Liberal Fruitcakes on steroids in power this gives the bosses the confidence to be arrogant.
Their class has got their backs with a compliant Right Wing media reinforcing this.
So we need to get behind diverse working people who are fighting for a better quality of life, and for us all.
Perhaps our best hope is solidarity and knowing the Tory Leadership are political lightweight.
Power to diverse working people!
As anyone who has ever been involved in workplace negotiations, on either side, knows the most important thing is trust – the knowledge that each side is acting in good faith and genuinely wants to resolve the dispute.
Here we have an act of bad faith by management so clearly (like the Coal Board under Thatcher before them) they do not wish to reach a negotiated settlement. They want to destroy the union and with it the members only hope for decent pay and conditions.
“They want to destroy the union and with it the members only hope for decent pay and conditions…”
Yes. Unions and secure employment with above subsistence level wages are anomalous in the modern neo-liberal economy.
The current union system cannot survive- it cannot deal with the reality that the law and the state are in the employers’ pockets and strike action is virtually banned.
Effective strike action is actually banned.
Trade unionism without a theory of taking over the state and lawmaking is just a system of well housed Friendly Societies plus memories of struggle.
If the time is not ripe for a General Strike, in defiance of the law, it will be soon.
This is the very definition of acting in bad faith. The MSM should cover this and CWU need to provide them with the actual comma so that this can be verified.