The Postmaster General, John Stonehouse MP, has gone on record as saying that when the Post Office becomes a corporation, he will never tolerate workers' control in it. Workers' participation maybe, but control, never! The idea of workers' participation as the Right Hon. John Stonehouse well realises, is not a new concept for the civil service. With the advent of a new, corporation status for the Post Office however, the idea of workers' control seems particularly repellant to him. As long ago as 1917 a system called the Whitley Negotiations was introduced into the civil service and the unions dragooned into joining it. The reason for this was stated quite categorically at the time by Whitehall. This was to damp down workers' unrest and stop a spread of unofficial disputes to the civil service. The Whitley system works on the basis of discussions between union and management at local, regional and national levels about every small detail EXCEPT pay and benefits.
Such a system was first envisaged by J. Whitley who forced it on his own workers in the USA, where he was a successful business tycoon. The effect of this method is to draw the unions into quite consciously taking responsibility for any unpopular decisions made by the management, and is an attempt to create company unions such as exist in the USA and Canada. It is small wonder that most workers in the Post Office have little faith in the negotiations at Whitley level. Besides many small-grade associations, three unions are primarily responsible for operating the Whitley system and representing the Post Office workers.
[illegible] one of the most militant in the country and has one of the best records for left-wing policy. It includes most of the engineering staff up to Foremen and Inspectors, and a few clerical staff associated with engineering staff.
(2) UNION OF POST OFFICE WORKERS: Probably the most conservative of the three unions, it represents postmen, telephonists and assorted clerical staff. Its secretary, Jackson, has however, a reputation for militancy and has called for workers' control on more than one occasion.
(3) CIVIL SERVICE CLERICAL ASSOCIATION: this union represents most clerical and technical staff and is the only one of the three to represent staff outside of the Post Office, as it represents most clerical civil servants. Unlike the other two, it is not affiliated to the Labour Party, but opposes the incomes policy and has a reasonably "left" leadership including Kendall, its General Secretary.
None of these three unions are docile, either in membership or rank-and-file, and the fears of Mr. Stonehouse may well be founded in reality if he is not careful. The change from treasury control to corporation has raised doubts in many people's minds.
[illegible] ion of redundancy has been raised on numerous [illegible] obviously requires workers' control over hiring [illegible] much stronger reason than even the question of redundancy, is the way in which the GPO is constantly exploited by private enterprise to the detriment of both its workers and its subscribers. A ring of five, inter-related companies supplies most of the material used in the Post Office. Realising their near-monopoly position and the scarcity value of their products, they can delay delivery of articles and exact high prices for them. If the workers had any control over this then this sort of malpractice could be brought to a halt. However, the main case for workers' control is the future of the Post Office. Automation is becoming an ever-increasingly large part of the GPO's future. Automatic sorting machines have drastically reduced the number of postmen needed on sorting duties. The new automatic-relay telephone exchanges have cut the number of telephonists needed, and the Fulton Report must be seen as an attempt to do away with surplus clerical workers in the Civil Service.
Such uncertainty about future employment and conditions, and also of the methods of introducing automation, can only be allayed when workers have a genuine say in their future. Whitleyism is played out, as are all forms of participation opposed to control. As socialists we should demand the following:
1. Nationalise the sub-contracting firms;
2. no redundancies;
3. an end to Whitleyism; and
4. workers' control of the industry.
Only when such actions are fought for will both the workers in the GPO and the general public be sure of their future and disgusting, anti-socialist drivel, such as that John Stonehouse pushes, be exposed.