European Union attempt to liberalise the Postal Service should be resisted

The news that the European Parliament has rubberstamped by 512 to 155 the hideous Charlie McCreevy-led European Commission plans to open the European Union (EU) market for delivering light-weight letters and postcards mail weighing below 50 grams to full competition from 2011 is yet another attack on the Postal Service and other semi-state companies and government organisations who provide a “social service”, not just in Ireland, but across the European Union! 

Little or no appreciation or recognition has been given to the fact that Postal Services across the EU, including An Post here in Ireland provide a universal service, ie, letters being delivered and collected at least once a day, five days a week no matter where, while a uniform tariff between rural and urban areas must also be secured as part of their Universal Service Obligation (USO).  All this talk of EU states creating a fund into which all postal operators pay, or alternatively that additional costs due to universal service can be financed by state subsidies (with the European Commission keeping an eye that national models do not contradict EU law), or that EU capitals are likely to table a concrete list of individual deadlines and derogations regarding the liberalisation of the Postal Sector, is just a very elaborate smokescreen by the European Union Commission, the EU Parliament and the various governments that want to flog off the Postal Service, like every other public service that provides a “social service”, such as CIE and the ESB, to multi-billionaire speculators. 

Well, if the European Union and the various governments in the EU think that they can get away with this and just ride roughshod over people then they are very seriously mistaken!  Around 5.2 million people are employed in the Postal Sector in the European Union, and they do intend to fight very vigorously to defend their jobs and their hard-fought-for terms and conditions of employment, and to protect the Universal Service Obligation (USO) that Postal Services in the EU currently provide. Already, the EU Confederation of all the unions representing postal workers in the EU staged a token, EU-wide, one-day strike in the postal services across the European Union in June, which was a great success.  However, this token one-day protest is only the beginning of the battle!  Further, much larger protests will be staged EU-wide should the EU and the various governments as, seems quite likely, try to force this liberalisation of the Postal Sector through.  Not only postal workers should be protesting, though.  It's time that all workers who are under attack from globalisation, free-market fanatics and privateers plundering people's jobs and livelihoods to stand together and to fight back together.  Remember, my struggle today could be your struggle tomorrow!