Make Rail privateers pay voted two-to-one in the ballot for industrial action against Royal Mail's Employee Agenda.
Despite previous talk of a series of one-day strikes, General Secretary Alan Johnson's immediate response was to reduce the vote to a lever in further negotiations with management.
Management answered with their usual talk of how strike action would only endanger jobs. They called for further talks and raised the possibility, dismissed by them earlier, of ensuring that no postal workers lose out financially from their proposals.
Strong support for action indicates that most postal workers recognise that it is not primarily money which is at stake. The 'Employee Agenda' is about massive job losses and destroying the union.
Management wants to introduce 'teamworking' which would require postal workers to cover all vacancies and absences for no extra pay. Each team would be set a mythical productivity figure which could only be achieved by working flat-out all day, every day.
Teams would be expected to deal with any paper work connected with the job in their own time. If all targets were achieved a monthly bonus would be paid.
It is this issue that Royal Mail refuses to budge on.
It took intense pressure from the union membership and the rest of the CWU executive to force Johnson to break off previous negotiations and go to a ballot.
The danger now is that Johnson will do everything possible to avoid calling action, or call the minimum he thinks he can get away with, in exchange for minor concessions from management.
It will take more than a ballot alone or even a series of one-day strikes to defeat the centre-piece of managements' strategy. Postal workers need to step up the level of organisation at both the workplace level and nationally within the union to ensure the ballot victory is built on.
The rest of the labour movement should be cementing links now with CWU branches so they can provide maximum support when strike action takes place.
Greg Tucker, RMT Train Crew National Secretary EVERY month sees new parts of British Rail being given away into private hands.
Whilst Labour continues to fudge on what it will do in office, rail unions have proved unwilling to combat the threat of privatisation directly themselves.
While TSSA plays dead and ASLEF have settled for acting as an "employ. ment agency", an honest broker providing a service for the new private companies, the RMT has borne the brunt of direct attacks on its rights to organise. But unlike the other unions, it has at least tried to find ways to fight back.
In the latest move, the RMT is preparing for battle over demands by Train Crew for proper pay and conditions.
Operating companies have had up to last weekend to respond to demands for properly booked meal breaks for Guards and for an I1 per cent pay rise for past productivity, standing separate from the ordinary annual pay claim.
Progress has been made with some of the companies over the breaks, pay is different matter We are demanding of the National Executive that ballot papers go out urgently and that we open up a campaign of industrial action.
Our claim is clear - in recent years, train miles worked and revenue col. lected by each guard has soared, while the overall wage bill has actually gone down. At our recent RMT Train Crew Conference, delegates from around the country were forthright - the memberchis wants to see action Whilst we still demand of any incoming Labour government that they immediately renationalise our industry, it is clear that we cannot simply wait for such a change - the time has come to stand and fight on our own demands.
Socialist Outlook 103 • June 8, 1996.