Strike On!

Its official, the pickets are out and once again the Royal Mail workers are on strike.
A walk out of between 24 and 48 hours.

I don't know all of the details. The workers are unhappy about the forthcoming changes to their contracts as the company desperately tries to modernise in order to compete in the 21st Century when snail mail is no longer the primary means of communication.

The reasons for needing to modernise and streamline are clear. They are delivering some 10,000,000 letters per day less than they were several years ago and this is a trend that is continuing to decline. So with a falling base of customers and as more and more of us switch to electronic bills and switch the green option of paperless, how can the Royal Mail business Model continue to exist long in to the future?

They are planning the biggest hike in the price of postage in its history with a 3 pence per First Class letter rise coming very soon. But with such a decrease in customers surely revenue will be falling as fast as the price increase adjusts.

Meanwhile, without modernisation the company is in a very bad place. The workers blaming the management, the management blaming the customers. Who is to blame? The Government for not interfering? As much as I feel sorry for the workers, to strike when there is so much unemployment in the country, in excess of 2.5 million workers desperate for a job, seems to be a bit off key. For over a year now we have been saying that things look like they are heading towards a winter of discontent. People are fed up with high inflation, but poor wage rises and yet still being taxed to the nth degree. With the highest cost of living in Europe old England is far from cheap. People that work at the Royal mail in the delivery offices and posting the letters will not be on the highest of salaries, but provide what I always believe should be considered an essential service.

The mail, like dustmen, the provision of electricity, water provision and infrastructure as well as transportation services are all necessities of the modern world and as such I think something that should be provided and run by the Government. We have however learned the hard way that at least in this country they couldn't organise a drink up in a Brewery.

Failed Metronet after the Government sold off the rights to run the tube, the highest electricity and gas prices in Europe after they sold off all the utilities and yet despite selling everything off they managed to dig a hole of dept that is currently 59% of GDP. What did they do with all the cash? Probably paid it to themselves in handsome little expenses packages.

Meanwhile, the Royal Mail strike continues and we hear that the Government is keen to sell the entire service off. They continue to strike, business customers leave in abundance for rival courier services and incidentally they have a pension deficit of between £9 and £10 Billion. Now while I may feel sorry for the workers at their grievances, who's going to want to buy a company of striking workers with £10 Billion dept. The Baby Boomers have struck us all again with yet another cost no doubt we will be left to pick up. Of course there is another option, Royal mail will fold. 25 years ago the miners were on strike and where are the miners now?