Wednesday 21 October 2009

Support Bath Posties! - what you can do


On Thursday and Friday of this week, hundreds of thousands of Posties are taking strike action all over the country. Despite demonization from right wing rags like the Daily Mail, the posties are taking the last option left to them. The Royal Mail, and their 'shareholders' (the government) are intent on pushing through a program of job cuts, pay cuts, service cuts and privatization which will send the postal service the same way as the failed railways, energy companies and all other privatized resources, which now cost us more, deliver worse service, and worse working conditions than when they were publicly owned. If the posties lose this strike, it will mean more than just job losses and pay cuts. We will see more, if not all of our post offices closing down, we will receive a less frequent postal service, and with a profit driven company controlling the post, you can bet stamp prices and delivery charges will go through the roof.

So, what can you do to help? Firstly, pop a sign up in your window letting your postie know that you support him or her, secondly, pop down to the picket line. The Bath picket line will be going on for most of the morning and will be at the Manvers street entrance to the depot (between the cop shop and the church - urgh!). BAN are sending a few people down at 7.30, so why not come along and give your support. Experience on the picket lines has taught us that strikers don't want lefty newspapers and leaflets, they want coffee and cake, so that is what BAN will be bringing! Any food, drink or solidarity donations that you could bring down to the picket line would most likely go down well, and show the posties that we are on their side.

With workers going out on strike over pay cuts, privatization and redundancies in many different industries (refinery workers, lecturers, firefighters, posties to council workers and bin ment to name a few), all 3 major parties promising cuts in public services and the BNP promising the banning of our trade unions, it is time to pick sides do we stand united with other workers in a fight for jobs, respect and decent working conditions, or do we let the forces of government, fascism and capitalism steamroller our rights?

No comments: