Last week, the long running strike at Royal Mail officially came to an end as a deal to settle the dispute was voted through by members of the Communication Workers Union. But large numbers of workers have been left bitterly angry at the agreement, which still means below inflation pay and worsening terms and conditions.
By Ka Long Tung. Cover image: Royal Mail workers in south Wales gather for a union meeting last year, by Ka Long Tung
“I think in every way, our terms and conditions are getting eroded,” says Jason Richards.
“Ultimately, I think this agreement has fallen short of what was expected by everybody.”
Richards, who is the branch secretary of the Communication Workers Union, South East Wales Amal Branch, was speaking as a new deal for postal workers had just been voted through.
But despite the fact that 67% of union members voted to accept the deal on a 75% turnout , he says that many are deeply frustrated.
Most of the union’s branches in Scotland, and a handful in Wales and England recommended their members to vote no, according to Richards. His branch, which covers 1,700 members across the whole CF postcode area in south Wales, was one of those which wanted to reject the deal.
“I think people are a bit frustrated really at headquarters, because you know, we led such a huge campaign,” Richards explains. “We put on a massive fight, the strikes galvanised the staff and brought people together, and then they felt a little bit let down.”
The CWU leadership had claimed that the deal was the best that could be achieved, and that some sacrifices had to be made to stop the company going bust. They toured the membership in a bid to win a yes vote, with General Secretary Dave Ward telling a meeting in Belfast. “We haven’t got all we want, but we have got a strategy and basis for improving this…Have a look at this deal – are you better with the deal or better with no deal?”
The deal came after more than 115,000 posties took part in 18-days of industrial action between September and December last year, demanding higher pay and defending themselves against sweeping attacks on their working patterns.
But in April, a model agreement with Royal Mail was reached after months of negotiations with the CWU.
Under the deal, staff will get a 10% pay rise over three years and a one-off lump sum of £900, in return for accepting new terms and conditions. Royal Mail have also promised there would be no compulsory redundancies between now and April 2025.
The three year pay deal equates to around 3.5% per year, well below inflation and the average pay increases across the economy of 6.5%
“I think that the £900 made a big difference in the deal getting accepted,” said Richards, pictured, above.
“I think it’s important that we get as much money as possible into the members’ pockets after a long sustained cost of living crisis, where we’ve taken 18 days in action which was not easy.”
Nonetheless, the money is available only when workers accept regressive changes in working practice, which Jason says will have a long-term, detrimental impact on the job and the service.
“You could see it as a carrot, which was put on the table, which people accepted short-term benefits, rather than consider the long-term consequences of sacrificing your terms and conditions.”
The changes which will now be bought in mean cuts to sick pay, changes to working hours and inferior terms for new posties.
These attacks on working rights, often referred to as uberisation, were one of the reasons that workers took industrial action in the first place.
Delivery start times will be later to respond to demand for next day parcels, meaning finishing times will be later, including on Saturdays. On top of that, there will also be seasonal working patterns which see posties working more hours in peak seasons and fewer in quieter seasons.
“Our sick pay has been eroded and Royal Mail are gonna find it easier to manage people under the business,” added Richards. “And obviously, that’s going to affect our most vulnerable members, people with long-term conditions or maybe suffering from disabilities.”
Accepting the deal also means that new employee contracts will include a requirement for Sunday working, changes to sick pay, attendance standards and ill health retirement.
“New starters coming in on lower terms and conditions. That’s something we can never accept,” Jason continued. “How are we supposed to recruit new starters when they come on lower terms and conditions than existing staff?”
The news also comes after the service was investigated by the regulator since mid-May for its failure to meet delivery targets.
Royal Mail is required to deliver 93% of first class mail within one working day of collection. However, only 73.7% of it was delivered on target over the last year excluding Christmas.
The requirement for second class mail, which should be delivered within three working days, is 98.5%. Only 90.7% was delivered on target.
Richards says the poor performance is a result of how the service is managed and tied into the new changes to working practices.
“We’re seeing management telling their members of staff that if you’re struggling to complete on any day, then if it’s a choice between delivering a track parcel or a letter, then you deliver that track parcel,” he said.
After the announcement of the ballot result, many union members expressed their disappointment online.Under the CWU’s Twitter post announcing the ballot result, there was a string of angry comments from members.
One wrote: “Think it might be time for delivery posties to set up a breakaway union because the Cwu have fired us under the bus!!”
As a branch secretary, Richards confirmed that some members had left the union. “Since the ballot result, we have seen people cancel their membership, which I think was expected,” he said. “There’s a lot of anger about the deal.”
“Headquarters kind of felt like to a lot of members they gave up the fight and accepted a really poor deal which they recommended people vote for.”
Responding to the ballot, Posties Say Vote No to the Deal, a group of postal workers who rejected the deal, described it as “a huge step backward” for CWU.
“Half a year of suspended strike action has killed our momentum, and some have said they feel it would be hard to get us out on strike again, ” they wrote.
Another aspect of the deal that has left a bitter taste in the mouth is the fact that it didn’t include a commitment to reinstate union reps and members who were sacked or suspended during the dispute. As such, many worry that bullying managers will feel emboldened.
Nonetheless, Posties Say Vote No to the Deal argued it was not the time to leave the union but to learn from the experience and give a new direction.
Richards also thinks that workers should not leave the union and expects those who have will re-join in the future.
“Hopefully you’ll get a lot of them coming back after they realise that they’re still going to need representation in the workplace.”
“The fight goes on,” he added. “But I’m concerned that the biggest fight is still yet to come.”
