I want to comment on the recent article on the World Socialist website entitled The CWU’s “framework agreement” backs Kretinsky’s Royal Mail takeover. The article is concise and spot-on. It is a culmination of months of analysis provided by WSWS.org on the current betrayal by the Communication Workers Union(CWU).
The CWU has become an open mouthpiece of Royal Mail and
Kretinsky himself. Since the betrayal of the last postal strike, the union has
worked around the clock to pave the way for the takeover of Royal Mail by
Kretinsky.
As the recent article by Hyland and Tiernan states:
“The CWU’s deal with Kretinsky, “Rebuilding Royal Mail: A
Framework Agreement between EP Group and CWU”, was unanimously endorsed by the
CWU Postal Executive Tuesday. It sets out the union’s corporatist partnership
with EP Group’s investors and gives union officials a seat at the boardroom
table.”[1]
It goes on, “ Ward claimed the agreements with Kretinsky
“give us the best chance of rebuilding Royal Mail.”Nothing could be further
from the truth. The agreements seek Royal Mail’s transformation into a
gig-economy parcel business to compete with Amazon. It is part of a global
restructuring of the post and logistics sector, using AI and automation to
slash thousands of jobs.”
Now, compare this analysis of a genuine and orthodox Marxist
position to the analysis peddled by the UK Socialist Workers Party(SWP). In a
recent article (which must be said is the only analysis the SWP has made in
over five months at the least), "Unions Should Battle on after Royal Mail
sell-off, "[2]
the SWP takes obfuscation to a new level.
They write.” The postal workers’ CWU union is positive about
the deal. It insists that Kretinsky has signed up to significant protection
against asset stripping and breaking up the company. And it says that it and
the government now have a greater say in how the firm will be run”. This is a
lie and completely disarms postal workers as to the true nature of the CWU, the
Labour government and Kretinsky. The SWP has become not only a cover for the
treachery of the CWU but has become a mouthpiece for Kretinsky, writing that “he
pledges that he wants to invest in Royal Mail for the long term. Kretinsky says
he has no plans for compulsory redundancies and instead wants to expand the
workforce.” Again, this is a direct lie. It is clear to anyone that the SWP is
now a junior partner of not only the CWU bureaucracy but also a mouthpiece of
the Labour Government and Kretinsky himself.
Any postal worker wishing to fight the CWU’s open betrayal should
join the Postal Workers Rank-and File Committee/IWA-RFC and listen and
participate in the PWRFC’s next online
meeting on Sunday, January 5, at 7 pm. It will discuss the takeover agreed upon
between Kretinsky, the Labour government and the CWU and a strategy to fight
back.
