26.09.1996

Our own agenda

Strikes planned by rail and post office unions were called off at the eleventh hour last weekend.

On the rail network, 16 of the train-operating companies backed down and reached settlements over the Rail Maritime Transport union’s claim for productivity payments and scheduled breaks. Strike action against Scotrail was suspended, as the company agreed to talks, while the results of ballots of RMT members in three further companies were being considered by the executive. More negotiations are likely in those cases too.

Kenny Craig, RMT executive member, told me the final decision on any deal would be up to the membership: “If the reps reject, we reject - it’s as simple as that.”

Meanwhile, the decision by the postal executive of the Communication Workers Union to suspend strike action and reballot its Royal Mail membership achieved the unusual result of pleasing almost everybody.

Post office management described it as a “victory for common sense”, a sentiment echoed by trade secretary Ian Lang, and Labour Party leaders called it “a sensible decision”, even though the union is recommending a ‘yes’ vote to further industrial action.

Tony O’Grady, CWU divisional officer for North Wales and the North West, told me: “We welcome the ballot. We look forward to a massive ‘yes’ vote. That would be the clearest indication yet of membership support.”

Surprisingly though, many union rank and file activists were also pleased. Steve Jones, local rep at London’s Mount Pleasant sorting office, said: “It is an absolutely fantastic decision. I expect exactly the same result, if not better, in the reballot. It will mean we will cut out the crap and throw out the whole deal once and for all.” The CWU national leadership had previously agreed to many points of the Royal Mail overall package of attacks on working conditions and union rights.

Ronnie Slater, committee member of Scotland no2 branch, added: “The feeling is still there. Some of the lads are a wee bit unhappy about the reballot, but if we secure a further ‘yes’ vote we can get a better hold over Royal Mail coming up to Christmas.”

However, militants will have to work hard to ensure that the momentum is not lost. Many ordinary members, while disgusted by management schemes and so far loyal to the leadership, are not so enthusiastic. One told me: “We should have gone for an overtime ban and regular strikes every Monday and Saturday. The post office just sat back and waited for us to clear up the backlog. I think the members will vote to accept now.”

That, of course, is what Tony Blair and CWU joint general secretary Alan Johnson, his obedient servant, are counting on. Johnson denies that the electoral interests of Labour have got anything to do with it. But he managed to get his union’s postal executive, which up to now has voted down all attempts by the general secretary to call off the strikes, to accept unanimously the need for a fresh ballot. The argument that carried the day was the ‘threat’ of legal action against the union, although publicly the leadership is saying nothing about that.

Some militants are expressing disquiet that the legal argument has been used in this way. If Royal Mail had such a cast iron case, why has legal action not been taken up to now? Others are debating whether it was tactically correct to be influenced by possible litigation: might it not have been better to escalate the action, legal or not, rather than risk losing the momentum and possibly membership support?

The bosses, politicians and union leaders can plead for ‘common sense’ as much as they like. Workers must fight for what they need, not what is convenient for those with other agendas. That can only be done through creating our own political organisations, not depending on those whose only interest is in serving capitalism.

Peter Manson