AFTER THREE months of successful one day strikes, the Postal dispute has reached a critical point. The massive offensive by Royal Mail has failed to creațe a significant return to work.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) can win the dispute if it breaks through the stalemate that currently ex1STS.
On the day that the CWU had its seventh one day strike with indications that support for the strike was as strong as ever. Tony Blair gave support Royal Mail's call for a ballot on the ACAS deal.
The timing of his intervention could not have been more significant. The CWII executive were due to diceuce the next moves in the dispute having gone back to ACAS to clarify Royal Mail's position It is no secret that Alan Johnson, the general secretarv. wants to end the dispute by forcing a ballot on the ACAS deal. A ballot at this stage, even if the executive recommended opposition, would pass the initiative back to Royal Mail. For this reason it should be opposed.
The pressure from Johnson for a ballot reflects the struggle on the CWU executive Unlike the nostal dispute ir 1988 the general secretary cannot just call off the dispute at will.
Any deal will have to satisfy an executive that has been responsive to the views ot branch activists The sticking points on the executive were team working, streaming of mail between the first and second delivery, and the inclusion of office workers and cleaners in the settlement.
The executive has been criticised for lack of progress on a shorter working week and the pay restructuring package. It is impossible to reopen these issues at this stage of the dispute.
The executive must resist attempts to ballot the membership and escalate the action to bring matters to a head. An open meeting of branch activists, sponsored by 31 CWU branches was held on August 31 to discuss the way forward.
This was an important step forward as such a meeting earlier in March was vital in putting pressure on the executive and directing the dispute. The meeting gave a clear commitment to oppose any settlement that included the issues rejected by the executive committee. It agreed that if a ballot were organised it would campaign around these issues.
The meeting discussed the victimisation of union representatives being mounted by Royal Mail. Milton Keynes took unofficial action to defend a steward falsely accused of hitting a manger on the picket line. Southend took official action after a member was falsely accused of head-butting a manger.
Geoff Caldwell, south west divisional renresentative is facing the sack as a result of allegations against him over an incident which occurred during a one day strike. In Edinburgh a ballot has been organised for action following the dismissal on one member, and 4 more are facing appeals.
Socialist Outlook 106 • September 7 1996.