Developments
in the trade union movement in Northern Ireland indicate a growing willingness
to take action against attacks from the government and employers.
The postal workers’
victorious strike, the close vote against all-out action by civil service
workers, concessions made to firefighters on the question of pensions
plus possible strike action by third-level lecturers, show that an increasing
layer of workers are looking for a fighting alternative.
After spending almost three weeks on unofficial strike, postal workers
in Belfast secured a stunning victory against Royal Mail management's
bully tactics. The determination of the postal workers not to be treated
like slaves led to a militant strike and has shown how the anti-union
laws can be countered in future battles.
The strike, which involved up to 800 postal workers standing in solidarity
against the unjust treatment of union activists in the Belfast BT13
section of Tomb Street sorting office, resulted from over two years
of management harassment and intimidation. The unofficial walk-out on
31 January has seriously damaged Royal Mail’s management. As well
as forcing a hard-line management to back down, it will strengthen the
resolve and confidence of postal workers across Northern Ireland and
Britain as well as workers generally.
Last year, postal workers in Tomb Street held two walk outs in response
to unfair disciplinary procedures taken against shop floor union representatives.
At mass meetings during the strike, workers from Mallusk sorting office
and other sections reported how management were also attempting to impose
a regime of intimidation in their workplaces. It is clear that the disciplinary
procedures taken against union reps, in Tomb Street in January was the
straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.
This aggressive managerial approach must be put into the context of
New Labour's plans to privatise Royal Mail and open up the market to
"competition". In order to proceed with privatisation, Royal
Mail bosses want to impose new working practices and procedures which
will result in worse conditions for postal workers and a higher return
for any future private company. To compete with rival companies, Royal
Mail bosses claim that new practices are needed, part of the "modernisation"
agenda hitting all public services.
The spark which ignited the strike followed disciplinary procedures
taken against a Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) rep in the
Belfast BT13 section which delivers post to the Shankill Road area of
West Belfast. The union rep had been keeping a record of incidents of
managerial harassment against postal workers in a diary, as any decent
trade unionist should. The local manager, who had been promoted from
the workforce, searched a drawer containing the diary and other personal
material, removed the diary, photocopied it and then accused the union
rep of bullying and harassing other workers!
In response, the BT13 section walked off the job. As soon as workers
covering North Belfast, South Belfast and West Belfast heard of the
walk out, they immediately joined in solidarity. Postal workers in East
Belfast however, who work in a separate depot with separate management,
remained at work.
Two days later, the majority of workers at the Mallusk sorting office
joined the strike. This was a key development that qualitatively shifted
the balance of forces in favour of the striking workers. Mallusk sorting
office sorts all mail within Northern Ireland as well as mail coming
in and out of Northern Ireland. The strike had now paralysed the postal
service, thereby seriously disrupting business and administration within
Northern Ireland and beyond. Even the 50 managers who were flown in
from England and put up in the luxurious Hilton Hotel to scab on the
strike could not make any impact on the mountains of undelivered mail.
The day after postal workers returned to work, Royal Mail announced
that there was a backlog of seven million items.
The Federation of Small Business in Northern Ireland claimed that many
businesses were at "breaking point". While this may be an
exaggeration, the strike was having an impact on the economy. It showed
the important role the postal service and postal workers play in the
economy and the postal workers were able to use this to push their case
for respect and dignity at work. The media and Royal Mail deliberately
muddied the waters in order to confuse the issues behind the strike.
In fact, attempts were made to inject sectarianism into the strike in
order to divide the workers and reduce public support.
Workers'
Unity not Sectarianism
Incredibly, the
BBC came into possession of a General Municipal Boilermakers (GMB) union
letter that was used to undermine the strike. The letter attacked the
strike by claiming it was for "spurious reasons" and that
the strike had become "deeply sinister". In Northern Ireland,
the word "sinister" has become associated with paramilitary
involvement. This allowed the media to suggest that the strike was not
justified and allowed Royal Mail to argue that the union was guilty
of intimidating workers.
The GMB and CWU have a frosty relationship in Royal Mail. The GMB have
been accused of employing two ex-CWU organisers specifically to poach
CWU members. This has led to a small split, with the GMB recruiting
20 workers at Mallusk. Nonetheless, the majority of workers at Mallusk
remain in the CWU and joined the strike.
The Socialist Party has always argued that sectarian division can only
be countered by workers taking united action to further their common
class interests. It was obvious to postal workers that maximum unity
must exist between Protestant and Catholic workers in order to win the
strike. This was brilliantly demonstrated when nearly 400 postal workers
marched from a mass meeting in Transport House in Belfast city centre
up the Shankill Road, across the "peaceline" at Lanark Way
and down the Falls Rd. The strikers appealed to the communities of the
Shankill and Falls to come out and support their postal workers. All
along the route, the march was applauded. The last time a march was
held up the Shankill and the Falls was when the Fire Brigades Union
(FBU) led striking firefighters through the "peaceline" in
2003, again with the support of both communities. It was another example
of how workers taking action does more to bring working class communities
together across the sectarian divide than years of failed negotiations
between sectarian parties.
Unfortunately, politicians from the sectarian parties were invited to
speak at a rally on Lanark Way. Councillors from Sinn Fein, the PUP,
SDLP and DUP spoke about the damage the strike was causing to people
and that both sides must "sit down together and sort it out".
Not surprisingly, none of the politicians marched the entire route.
The only political party banner on the march was that of the Socialist
Party.
Anti-union
legislation
The anti-union legislation
introduced by Thatcher was designed to make it as difficult as possible
for workers to take strike action. An attack on a union rep. sometimes
requires immediate action in order to force an employer to back off.
This was the case in Tomb Street. As there was no official ballot, the
CWU decided to “repudiate” the strike rather than confront
the anti-trade union laws. The strikers were attacked by the media for
taking "illegal action", yet it was clear, even without a
ballot that the overwhelming majority of workers supported the strike,
otherwise they'd be at work!
There is no doubt that the national leadership and officials of the
CWU were desperate for an end to the strike. However, Royal Mail management
refused to take part in negotiations as long as the workers remained
on strike. At the same time, the postal workers refused to go back to
work unless they got a clear commitment from management that disciplinary
measures against union reps be withdrawn and also that they agree to
an "independent" industrial relations review. Management then
placed impossible conditions on workers returning to work, which broke
past agreements and health and safety regulations. ICTU’s intervention
into the dispute was an offer to act as a mediator! Royal Mail rejected
their offer of "assistance".
Because the strike was "unofficial" (and by law illegal),
there was no official union hardship or strike fund. The Socialist Party
raised with postal workers the need to raise cash in order to keep the
picket line solid and prevent Royal Mail from starving workers back
to work. Our members successfully campaigned within NIPSA for a £20,000
donation to the strike fund set up by the Belfast Trades Council. Our
members in the FBU and CWU in Dublin also pledged financial support.
By now it was clear to Royal Mail management that they had underestimated
the workers’ determination to win and would have to begin to make
concessions.
Negotiations between the CWU, Royal Mail and the Labour Relations Agency
began in London after Royal Mail made an offer to withdraw their previous
conditions on a return to work. But they still included a 12 month no-strike
clause and refused to agree to no victimisation of local union reps.
After the postal workers rejected this nonsense, Royal Mail were forced
to withdraw all pre-conditions on a return to work and made a 100% retreat.
Management also conceded to the workers’ demand for an independent
review of industrial relations. This "independent" review
does not guarantee an end to Royal Mail’s attempt to intimidate
union organisers and harass postal workers. This magnificent strike
has shown that militant action is the most effective way to deal with
Royal Mail and the government’s plans.
In recent years, many workers have not felt confident in taking industrial
action. The victorious postal workers strike can help build confidence
amongst other sections of workers and can represent a change in the
situation. The postal workers have had to work in a climate of fear
created by an aggressive management determined to prepare Royal Mail
for privatisation and "market liberalisation". But they had
enough and fought back to defend their conditions.
The draconian approach of Royal Mail management is not unique. Workers
in all sectors, public and private, are facing similar attacks on wages,
conditions, privatisation etc. This is a result of the inability of
capitalism to provide decent jobs with decent pay and conditions. Neo-liberal
globalisation has forced governments and companies to drive down the
wages and conditions of workers in order to maintain profits. The postal
workers’ strike is only the beginning of an upswing in working
class struggle that will develop across Northern Ireland and Britain
in the next period in opposition to these attacks.
The narrow rejection in a ballot for all-out strike action by NIPSA’s
civil service members against the imposed 0.2% pay offer by Peter Hain
is a warning to the government that a growing number of workers feel
they have no choice but to fight against the government’s attacks.
It is significant that over 6,000 civil service workers voted for all-out
strike action.
Why
the ballot was rejected
In a 64% turn out,
47% voted for all-out strike action and 53% against. The narrow majority
against all-out action is not because civil service workers are happy
with this derisory pay offer. There are many reasons for the “no”
vote but an important factor is the lack of confidence in the right-wing
of NIPSA to give effective leadership in such an important battle as
an all out strike. Important sections of civil service members have
been neglected by the right wing of NIPSA.
Right wing controlled branches failed to explain how the strike could
have forced the government to back down and come up with a better pay
offer. In reality, the right wing majority in the leadership of the
civil service side of NIPSA failed to campaign for a “yes”
vote.
It is now essential that a strong and dynamic fighting left alternative
is built in NIPSA that can challenge the inaction and "sabotage"
of the right wing and provide a leadership capable of defending the
members’ interests.
Socialist Party members in NIPSA are now discussing with other lefts
about the possibility of building a united left campaigning organisation
that sets itself the goal of transforming NIPSA into a democratic fighting
trade union. The left in NIPSA needs to argue for the union to go on
the offensive on issues such as pay, in particular the scandalously
low levels of pay that thousands of civil and public servants receive.
A
new united left
The Socialist Party
believes that this new left formation needs to adopt a programme that
would include demands to democratise the union – for the election
of full time officials to be paid the average wage of the members they
represent. Other key issues include the right of local branches to hold
funds as well as NIPSA playing a leading role in the development of
a working class political alternative in Northern Ireland. The unions
need to play a political as well as industrial role. In Northern Ireland,
there is an urgent need for a socialist alternative to the dead-end
of sectarian politics.
The unions, which
unite Protestant and Catholic workers, together with genuine community
groups can provide the basis for a new party of the working class which
could challenge the right-wing sectarian parties and organise working
class communities to fight against cuts, water charges, privatisations
and so on.
In Britain, New Labour has continued the right-wing Thatcherite policies
of the Tories. Labour has transformed from a party that once gave a,
albeit imperfect, voice to the working class into a party of big business.
Attempts to reclaim the Labour Party have failed repeatedly. The Socialist
Party in England & Wales (our sister party) has initiated the Campaign
for New Mass Workers’ Party, which amongst other demands calls
on the unions to break the link with New Labour. Unions should stop
funding Blair’s anti-working class policies and instead use these
funds to establish a genuine new working class party that will defend
and fight for working class people’s rights.
It is no coincidence
that the unions who are not affiliated to New Labour have forced the
government back from attacking their members' pensions. Unions with
a left leadership who are not affiliated to New Labour, like the PCS
and FBU, have been able to force concessions from the government on
pensions.
The continuation of neo-liberal attacks on workers over the next period
will result in more struggles like the postal strike. It is during these
struggles that workers will not only take on the employers and the government
but will also join the struggle to transform our unions and to build
a new mass working class party committed to the ideas of socialism.
