A FUDGE between Royal Mail and the CWU postal workers' union has lifted the threat of industrial action taking place before Christmas.
The long running dispute over teamworking and deliveries has been hived off to two joint working parties. Chaired by the conciliation service ACAS and consisting of equal numbers of union and management representatives, these hope to reach agreement by April next year, effectively delaying any further action until after the next general election.
It is, untortunately, a good result for Tony Blair who, along with the union's general secretary, Alan Johnson, tried everything he could to prevent the dispute escalating and embarrassing Labour in the run-up to the poll.
There will now be a ballot on accepting a without-strings 3 per cent pay rise and ending the dispute. Although this is likely to be won, a majority of postal workers remain angry and defiant, and will need some convincing that in the longer term the new committees can reach an agreement.
The task for union activists on the ground is to continue to campaign against the threatened changes and build opposition.
The fight is only postponed temporarily and Mr Blair's embarrassment may eventually arise when he is in office.