The CWU will be doing everything in our power to oppose the company’s industry destroying plans
Yesterday’s ruling in the High Court has left CWU members extremely angry and bitterly disappointed. The fact that one judge has granted Royal Mail an injunction to invalidate our ballot of over 110,000 members is shocking. Even the judge himself had to accept the overwhelming vote for strike action given our members returned a 97 percent yes vote on a 76 percent turnout.
Not one single person out of 110,000 who were balloted complained to Royal Mail that their right to vote was interfered with. Not one single person out of 110,000 who were balloted complained to the independent scrutineers that their right to vote was interfered with.
Electoral Reform Services who conducted the ballot confirmed it was run in full accordance of the law. And after over seven weeks since the ballot commenced, not one single person has complained to the certification officer who is appointed by the government to regulate trade unions.
Yet despite all of this – with no evidence supporting their claim from any employee – Royal Mail came to the court in what is a cowardly and vicious attack on its own workforce – and through a witness statement of one manager were granted an injunction to stop our right to strike in defence over 100,000 jobs and the very future of UK postal services.
We have run a fantastic modern-day campaign that combines face to face meetings with use of social media to engage willing members to maximise the yes vote and turnout. Members participated and cast their vote of their own free will. To suggest otherwise is to insult the intelligence and the integrity of thousands and thousands of good hard-working people.
We are currently considering the judge’s detailed reasons for this judgement but we want to make it clear that the only thing this union, its representatives and its members have done is to run a fantastic modern-day campaign to engage and encourage workers to defend their jobs.
We want our members to know that we will not be moved and we will be doing everything in our power to oppose the company’s industry destroying plans and this decision, including appealing against the judgement once we have taken guidance from our lawyers, re-balloting and launching a huge leverage campaign with major shareholders against the company’s actions.
This injunction is not only a massive injustice to our members it’s also an injustice to every worker in the country.
We all need to wake up and recognise that this Tory government has deliberately stacked the rules against workers in favour of the constituency they were born to serve – which is big business and the establishment.
We appeal to the TUC and workers everywhere – in what is a call – to arms that it’s time for us to fundamentally shift the balance of forces in this country back to working people and remove these draconian laws once and for all.
To Rico Back and the Royal Mail Board we say you cannot face away from the reality that your victory in this court will be short-lived. You cannot face away from the reality that you have completely lost the confidence of the workforce and as a result there is no way you will ever be able to fully implement your plans for the future.
This union and our members will not be moved.
Dave Ward is the General Secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
To reach hundreds of thousands of new readers and to make the biggest impact we can in the next general election, we need to grow our donor base substantially.
That's why in 2024, we are seeking to generate 150 additional regular donors to support Left Foot Forward's work.
We still need another 124 people to donate to hit the target. You can help. Donate today.
7 Responses to “The High Court’s decision to block the Royal Mail strike will be a short-lived victory for bosses”
Rev Joseph Haward
I fully support you! It is a disgrace and absolute injustice what happened yesterday. The High Court has revealed itself to be unfit for puprose. Your members will rise, and justice will roll like a river. Stand strong. Remember, the law cannot prevent a movement. The law cannot hold back those who pursue the right, the good, and the just. They may seek to silence those who speak out, but the voice of the many will overcome the lies of the corrupt. Speak, act, you will prevail!
Domhnall O hAodha
Royal Mail privatisation was always about destroying secure and reliable employment and substituting that with precarious, lower paid drudgery on lines already seen in other courier services and indeed in Holland after a similar privatisation. People must recognise that this is part of the neoliberal assault on the working class. The concentration of wealth in the offshore accounts of our plutocracy is wrecking our society. Every working person should support this union action and insist on the restoration of trade union rights. We are virtually back to the conditions of the great London Dock Strike in the late 19th Century and maybe if we do not seize the opportunity of a Corbyn government that will be where we are driven.
Ralph A Tebbutt
We are fully behind the CWU and our postal workers. We support you in whatever you decide to do. The Court decision is outrageous and a complete denial of democracy. All the Trade Union Laws should go. The Labour Party must include this in their manifesto and campaign on behalf of the CWU. I am pleased to know that you will be speaking at our Trades Council AGM
NMac
The Establishment yet again looking after the interests of the Establishment.
Sue Groves
The ballot conformed to the rules of the Trade Union Bill. The injunction should not have been granted on the basis of one complaint in over 100,000. Don’t the majority count anymore? Bosses should not be allowed to run roughshod over their staff, just to satisfy shareholders. I fully support the posties, their work is hard enough as it is.