POEU Westminster branch *This is now the policy of the union and determination.' These were the fine words of Bryan Stanley, general secretary of the Post Office Engineering Union, at the end of the wages debate at the union's conStanley and his right-wing supporters on the national executive had just seen the conterence decide on a pay claim of 30 per cent on basic rates and 7 per cent for responsibility'. This claim was a full 10 recommendation — 23 per cent plus 4 per cent for productivity.
week Stanley "determination' by settling for only 20 per cent on basic rates and 3 per cent for productivity. he natióna along with this miserable sell-out, despite the velate opposition supporters to discuss the offer.
Answers In a.letter Stanley outlined his five reasons for accepting this offer. It's worth answering his points one by one:
The National Executive Council has decided to accept this offer against the background of an increasingly depressed into account the following points:
It compares favourably with the generality of settlements made in the 1979/80 pay round.
An offer of 23 per cent does not compare favourably with the fact that the armed forces, police, and 'top, over 30 per cent this year and have 'caught up' with inflation, while we have lost almost 15 per cent in real terms since 1975.
Barlow, chairperson of the Post Office, has had increases totalling £13,000 this year.
showed his executive voted 14 to 9 to go cent the Broad Left who demanded a recall conference 1978?
POEU branches, Bryan economy and taking CUCHY people' have had rises well would William movement could result from negotiation, with or without prolonged industrial action.
If this were true, explain that the Post Office's final offer' of 17 per cent was magically transformed into 23 per POEU conference overwhelmingly for industrial action? How does he explain the fact that the POEU gained a significant reduction in hours, to 37.5, in The truth is that Bryan Stanley and friends are frightened of industrial action becaușe, as in 1978, they are worried that PO engineers might begin to realise weakness of a leadership like Stanley and Co.
The Post Office is facing a cash-crisis in the current financial year as a result of cash limits. This is likely to lead to a short fall of £200m in the telecommunications business.
The cost of any further increase to the membership would be likely to exacerbate the situation to a polat al measures had to be undertaken to ease the cash flow situation.
At the POEU conference it was made quite clear to delegates, by Stanley and others, that industrial action for 27 per cent or 37 per cent mean confronting the limits policy.
Stanley said at the conference: 'We are facing a board and a government that want a how does Bryan Stanle) OF RATS AND the the sweat for.
dated delegates, ed with their wishes or desires. to be able to do much better.
The best way to defend the Post Office as a nationalised industry is to fight the Tories and not to back down before them. Far from putting us on the defensive, Sir Keith Joseph's attacks on the monopoly should be fought by goPO Telecoms is profitable; it provides a good service, and is getting better all the time. I is the hard work and skill of telecoms workers which creates that wealth and that service, not What's wrong with demanding The offer provides for the maintenance of the real value of the members' wages and for some real improvement in cash terms.
The offer does not provide for any real improvement. Prices, on I July, stood at almost 23 per cent higher than a year previously. For .our wages to keep pace we needed 23 per cent.
That is what the original claim said, and that is why 23 per cent doesn't mean an increase. Our claim for 30 per cent was aimed at raising basic rates sufficiently to recoup some of the real wages we 've lost in recent years. Instead we've got a basic rise of only 20 per cent, the other 3 per cent 'productivity' we'll have to In total, Bryan Stanley's argument adds up to craven capitulation - nothing more or less. That is why he turned down the call for a special conference so that the rank and file, through their democratically elected and mancould decide on the offer.
The Broad Left in the POEU is launching a campaign for such a conference, although the 'democratic' rules of our union mean that we have to get a full two-thirds of our 290 branches to support such a call, making it an almost impossible task. Nevertheless such a campaign is very important to show the rank and file that their current leaders aren't in the least concernWe might not win this time round, but the fact remains that our 23 per cent is still a dent in the Tories' unofficial public sector pay limit of 14 per cent. If we can put a small dent in that policy with a leadership like Bryan Stanley and Norman Howard (see insert), then others ought