A succession of speakers at a CWU lobby of Parliament called on Gordon Brown to put pressure on Royal Mail management to negotiate or suffer the consequences with the public.
Addressing a packed House of Commons meeting, deputy general secretary Dave Ward warned that the union was set to “escalate the dispute politically and with the public. “If Gordon Brown, John Hutton and other members of the government will not put pressure on Royal Mail management to negotiate that must mean they are backing them 100 per cent,” said Dave, who accused RM of “using competition as a stick to beat the workers with.”
Dave suggested that the reason why publication of the RM accounts had been delayed was to avoid exposure of the £300,000 bonus that chief executive Adam Crozier had received.
Dave also questioned how Allan Leighton, “a man who works one day a week for the Post Office can write to our members claiming they are 40 per cent under worked.” “You face 2,000 post office closures and the systematic destruction of the postal service in the UK. The union has made offer after offer. If RM came round the negotiating table we would call off the strikes,” said Dave.
General secretary Billy Hayes declared that Leighton and Crozier only believed in profit while the union supported public service. “We will fight to defend our public service and will win this dispute,” said Billy.
Labour MP John McDonnell called on the government as the sole shareholder in Royal Mail to “intervene in the postal dispute to force the management to negotiate with the union.” The former Labour leadership candidate pointed out that Gordon Brown became leader on a mandate of change and this was his chance to prove the point by intervening in the dispute. “Some in government believe the market can cure everything, others of us believe in public service,” said John.
Former Postmaster General and Labour MP Tony Benn described the people who now manage the Post Office as “rubbish“ and Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton as “a part timer” “Your allies are the public. If they knew what was being done they would not stand for it. The public will put the pressure on the government,” said Tony, who confirmed he had been out on picket lines for the first two days of strikes.
Labour MP Geraldine Smith warned that if the government disowned responsibility for the Post Office they would get blamed by the public. “This is a battle that can be won. It is important that the message gets through to the government and MPs,” said Ms Smith.
Unite T&G general secretary Tony Woodley declared that the trade unions face a government that is actively working against them. “This is a battle for what sort of postal service we want today. We know the sacrifices you have made and it is important that the resolve of members remains strong,” said Tony, who said now is not the time for members to sit on the fence.
Lord Tony Clarke admitted that “it was my government that rushed into liberalisation.. with indecent haste.” Tony called for some macro management from government in the form of sacking Leighton and Crozier. “Postal workers have given nothing but the best of service to the British people,” said Tony.
More than 30 MPs attended the meeting, including Denis Skinner, Jim Dobbin, John Grogan, Tony Lloyd, Bob Wareing and Gordon Marston.
There were messages of support from London Mayor Ken Livingstone and TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. |
