Modernisation is at root of bitter postal dispute

As a second wave of postal strikes gets under way today, business reporter Louise Psyllides takes a look at the two sides of the dispute

STOP anyone in the street and the chances are they will have an opinion on the national postal strike.

Business owners say it is costing them millions of pounds, while some workers in other sectors say posties should consider themselves lucky to be in a job at all, given the economic climate.

There is no doubt the men and women who work for Royal Mail have the power to cause big problems all over the country – but how did it come to this?

The ugly dispute has its roots in "modernisation", Royal Mail's efforts to improve efficiency.

Bosses argue the changes are desperately needed – the amount of mail being sent is falling by about 10 per cent every year and Royal Mail is facing increasing competition from private firms.

But the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) says the changes, which include axing jobs, pushing back deliveries and increasing workloads, are being pushed through without negotiation and are wrecking the service.

Customers in North Staffordshire have already been hit by a series of strikes in recent months, as postal workers protested against Royal Mail's proposals.

In Stoke, sorting and distribution staff walked out over plans to transfer their work to Wolverhampton, a move which went ahead last month.

And in Burslem, delivery workers have held a series of strikes over changes to their working conditions.

That is because, from the beginning of September, union representatives say rounds have been increased by up to a third, or about 150 houses.

Workers say they are given no extra time to complete the rounds, which means managers are having to head out later with the mail they have been unable to deliver.

Andy Plant, CWU branch secretary, said: "About five years ago, there used to be two deliveries spread over the working day, but now there is only one, which means the post gets delivered later.

"Royal Mail suggested it was getting rid of the second delivery, but because people have ended up going out later, we argue it actually got rid of the first.

"What kind of employer modernises to make its product arrive later?

"We've also gone from a six-day working week to a five-day one, and the combination of fewer days and bigger deliveries means greater workloads.

"They say we're not up for modernisation, but somewhere in the region of 60,000 people have lost their jobs at Royal Mail over the past five years.

"That shows we're not standing in the way. We realise it has to be slimmed down, but all we want is to be sat down and made aware of the changes and discuss them."

The current strike stems from the 2007 Pay and Modernisation deal, which was agreed by Royal Mail and the CWU to bring the last national strike to an end.

The union argues the company has disregarded the fourth phase of the deal, which involved consulting workers on new measures to increase efficiency.

Mr Plant said: "Royal Mail said it was going to bring in new technology to replace outdated manual methods, but hasn't done it.

"All those jobs that have gone have not been replaced with machines.

"And when full-timers leave they either look at replacing them with a part-timer or taking the job out, which increases the workload for everyone else."

Mr Plant says the technology the company has adopted is not working.

He said: "They used to work out the walks manually, but now they use a system called Pegasus, which is adapted from a device used by a firm in Canada.

"We question how accurate it is – often it doesn't take into consideration hills and things like that.

"But once the routes have been worked out, people are put under pressure to perform to that target."

Mr Plant stressed most postal workers do not want to go on strike – and in many cases cannot afford to – but they feel they have been left with no other option.

He said: "We want to talk to Royal Mail and ask why it is doing certain things, but we get no answers and eventually you have to bring things to a head. It's a shame when things have to go that far.

"When we're on the picket lines, we get a lot of support. People beep their horns and stop to ask us what it's about, which we're happy to explain.

"I think the people of Stoke-on-Trent especially recognise the problems – theirs is one of the worst postal services in the country.

"Royal Mail has been trying to improve it for years, but the things it does, like moving the sorting from Stoke to Wolverhampton, haven't worked."

Mr Plant warned customers in South Cheshire are likely to see a similar deterioration in service if proposals to transfer work from Crewe to Warrington go ahead.

For its part, Royal Mail has accused the union of consistently saying one thing in public and then doing another.

It maintains it is fully committed to honouring the 2007 deal, which it says involved a 6.9 per cent pay award in return for the union's support on modernisation and flexible working practices.

Mark Higson, managing director, said: "Since 2003, when Royal Mail started to address the problems that had led to the company losing more than £1.5 million every working day, the CWU leadership has authorised about 950 separate ballots for industrial action.

"Over the past few months, the CWU has repeatedly promised a moratorium on strikes, in return for a pause in change at Royal Mail.

"More than two weeks ago, we confirmed we would be making no further changes this year.

"Since then, the union has not only failed to deliver any moratorium, but has made fresh demands and called a national strike, which will further damage our customers and the entire postal service.

"It remains hugely disappointing that the union seems to be in denial about the reality of the tough economic conditions facing everyone in the UK and the impact of competition, especially from email and the internet, which has helped drive mail volumes down by about 10 per cent this year.

"Every 1 per cent of lost business is costing Royal Mail some £70 million of lost revenue a year, so Royal Mail has to reduce its costs and focus more strongly than ever on delivering consistent, high-quality service."