The corporate media’s portrayal of Royal Mail’s sickness absence bill as a burden caused by postal workers is a political deception. In reality, the workforce carries the true burden, as their health deteriorates under a restructuring plan pushed by billionaire Daniel Křetínský, with backing from the Labour government and the CWU bureaucracy.
A media narrative built on inversion and deceit
A recent British headline claims that Royal Mail faces a
£200 million “sickness bill,” illustrating how Britain's corporate media often
serves as a tool for big business interests. The headline portrays sickness
absence as a cost imposed by employees, neglecting to recognise it as a
consequence of restructuring that harms workers’ health and well-being. The
article on 1st Class Chat suggests that postal workers are irresponsibly
draining resources. Still, in reality, the sickness figure highlights the human
toll of a harsh restructuring that damages workers' health.[1]
This inversion—depicting victims of exploitation as the
cause—is intentional. It serves as a calculated ideological strategy to sway
public opinion and pave the way for more assaults on the workforce.
The real cause of sickness: impossible workloads and
unsafe conditions
The WSWS and the Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee
(PWRFC) have thoroughly documented the conditions that have led to rising
sickness rates across Royal Mail. Owned by billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s EP
Group—and approved by the Starmer Labour government—Royal Mail is increasingly
becoming a low-wage parcel courier similar to Amazon.
The main focus of this change
is the Optimised Delivery Model (ODM), which was first trialled at 35 delivery
offices and is now being implemented nationwide. The document states that ODM
imposes “impossible productivity targets, removes safety protocols like bag
weight limits, and has used heart monitors to gauge how much delivery workers
can be pushed." Workers describe experiencing extreme exhaustion that
makes completing shifts physically impossible; chronic understaffing caused by
management’s bans on overtime; rising injuries, burnout, and stress; and such
high turnover that offices remain in a constant state of crisis.
A worker at Sheffield’s Woodseats office told the WSWS: “The
daily workload is impossible to complete within the shift ... High staff
turnover and sickness are common.” These aren't isolated cases but are expected
outcomes of a restructuring approach aimed at maximising labour from a
declining workforce.
The sickness bill is a cost of exploitation, not worker
malingering.
The £200 million sickness figure is not a cost workers have imposed
on management; rather, it's a cost management has imposed on workers due to
health issues, chronic stress, and physical exhaustion. The document clearly
states: “The £200 million figure is not a bill that workers have handed to
management—it is a bill that management has handed to workers, in the form of The
cost of Křetínský’s efforts to reduce expenses by £425 million includes
destroyed health, chronic stress, and physical breakdown. This approach
involves weakening the Universal Service Obligation and establishing a two-tier
workforce in which new employees earn just above the minimum wage. The media
remains eerily silent when workers die; for example, four deaths over two years
at a USPS facility in Palmetto, Georgia, went unreported. However, when workers
suffer from severe illnesses caused by unmanageable workloads, the media
quickly responds—yet often places blame on the victims.
The CWU bureaucracy: indispensable partners in the
restructuring
The leadership of the
Communication Workers Union (CWU), led by Dave Ward and Martin Walsh, isn't
opposing this restructuring; instead, they are facilitating it. The document
clearly states that the CWU signed the December 2024 Framework Agreement, which
launched the restructuring process. They also approved the ODM pilots and
enforced a pay deal that is below inflation. Furthermore, they have targeted
workers who organise independently through the PWRFC. The CWU’s “Heavy and
Light” model is revealed to be deceptive: it is not an alternative to ODM but a
rebranding that entails a further 15 per cent increase in workloads. The union
leadership serves as a labour-management partner whose primary function is to
suppress opposition and align the workforce with corporate interests.
The political context: Starmer’s Labour government and
the corporate oligarchy
The reorganisation of Royal Mail cannot be separated from
the wider political context. The Starmer government, backed by the financial
oligarchy, approved Křetínský’s takeover and has indicated support for
additional “modernisation” measures, which mainly mean job cuts, increased
speeds, and the elimination of remaining protections.
The media’s portrayal that
illness is caused by workers supports this agenda. It sets the stage for
increased demands for "flexibility," heavier workloads, stricter
attendance policies, reduced sick pay, and the spread of Amazon-like conditions
throughout the postal industry. This isn't an impartial discussion about
efficiency; it's an attack on working-class interests.
The way forward: independent rank‑and‑file committees
The solution is not to accept this framing but to establish
independent rank-and-file committees that assume control of working conditions
away from both management and the CWU bureaucracy.”
This is the only feasible way
forward. Rank-and-file committees must assert democratic control over
workloads, staffing, and safety. They should expose the collaboration of CWU
leadership, unify postal workers across delivery offices and regions, and connect
their struggle with workers internationally facing similar restructuring
efforts. Additionally, they need to oppose the Labour government’s
pro-corporate policies. The confrontation at Royal Mail is not just a local
industrial dispute but part of a global fight between the working class and a
capitalist system that values human health as expendable.
Conclusion
The media’s depiction of Royal Mail’s sickness absence bill
as a worker-created crisis is false. The actual crisis stems from the health
decline caused by a restructuring regime pushed by billionaire investors,
supported by the CWU bureaucracy, and approved by the Labour government. Postal
workers need to reject the narrative that blames them for their own
exploitation to protect their lives and livelihoods. The way forward is to
establish independent rank-and-file committees and to organise a united
political fight against the corporate oligarchy and its political allies.
