Surface Ripples

The Post Office Strikes...

The country's postal workers have come out on strike again against the "modernisation" currently being undertaken. Right or wrong?

Arguments are going back and forth about whose "fault" the current state of affairs is. It appears that management may have reneged on an agreement signed in 2007, in which the unions agreed to the loss of 40,000 jobs and management agreed modernisation, enhancement of pay and that future modernisation would be agreed with the unions.

Fast-forward two years and to where the UK is struggling to exit the worst recession for some time. No doubt, the 2007 agreement was negotiated in good faith, but as the recession took hold and demand for the Royal Mail's services plummeted, that agreement looks irrelevant. Most businesses are now fighting to survive, and frankly, an agreement negotiated under very different economic circumstances must be questioned, hard as that is.

Our postal system was designed when people and businesses communicated only by letter. This infrastructure still exists and is becoming more expensive as prices, wages, and the costs of regulation all rise. Management and workers both have a responsibility to recognise the ever-changing landscape and do their best to ensure that the service offered is both competitive and relevant to modern demand. The advent of fax, email and cheaper mobile phone tariffs have cut the need to send the good ole fashioned letter. In somes cases, the law requires that written notice is sent to a recipient, so we have no choice, but more and more people these days are making use of email.

Businesses rely heavily on the postal service. As we come into the Christmas season, internet gift catalogue companies must be worried that they will be unable to deliver on time. This must be of concern, as the UK struggles to tear itself free of a recession that has gripped us for almost two years.

Equally, bank and credit card statements may not be delivered, thus causing people to miss payments or to go overdrawn through no fault of their own. Notices of action required will be delayed (or never delivered) resulting in action not being taken, to the detriment of someone.

An efficient and relevant postal service is, like an efficient and relevant banking system and an efficient and relevant transport system, part and parcel of an efficient economy. Strikes help noone, and may even harm those whom they have been orchestrated to protect. Strike action, whilst effective in the short-term, results in disaster in the longer-term, as demonstrated by the miners, the car workers at British Leyland and the dockers at Southampton. These people refused to see that the world was changing and refused to adapt to the new reality. Where are they now?

Management and unions need to get round the table again and work things out. If the 2007 agreement is no longer relevant, a new agreement has to be signed. Understanding is needed on both sides, and a compromise (defined as an agreement acceptable to noone) will have to be reached. We are talking about having a first-class (excuse the pun) postal service that meets modern needs and is sufficiently flexible to change in the years ahead without resorting to agreements negotiated when circumstances were different. In the end, Royal Mail is run for the benefit of the users, not of the unions. The sooner they realise this, the better.

Labels: Crisis Management

posted by William Martin @ 23:04