THESE days it is affa easy tae assume that posties arnae as important as the ance were, an wrangly disregard the fact that we rely on them at aa.

But, the day, we will be exercisin oor democratic richt bi gaun oot tae the polls an castin votes for fa we want tae run the kintra. In the past puckle o month, oor posties hiv helpit tae support democracy bi makkin sure that aabdy has gotten their poll cairts (an the rest o the political bumfle) that allows for them tae mak up their minds on fa they want tae gie their vote tae.

Nae anely are posties important at election time, but at Christmas time an aa. At this time o ‘ear ye wad traditionally scrieve an send cairts or letters tae aa yer freens an faimly aroon the warld. Wi social media an the internet noo aften actin as a substitute, it isnae dane sae muckle these days as it ance was, but that doesnae mean that we dinnae still rely heavily on oor posties at this time o ‘ear. Thanks tae a new-fund obession wi online shoppin, the role that posties play in makkin sure aabody’s Christmas gaungs smoothly has niver been sae great.This Christmas thou, posties across the kintra are howpin for somethin for themsels.

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They are askin for the job security, fair pey, an pension reform that they were aaready promised bi Royal Mail in the Four Pillars Agreement jist twa ‘ear ago.

The Four Pillars Agreement was a promise tae aa Royal Mail warkers on a basic pey that their income was gaun tae gaung up bi 5%, fae October 2017, an then a forder 2% fae April 2019. A shorter warkin wik was on the cairts an aa, supposit tae gaung fae 39 hours tae 37 bi 2019. The goal was tae achieve a warkin wi o 35 hours bi 2022. Then, forby that, the Royal Mail defined benefit scheme was closed in 2018 aff the back o the Four Pillars Agreement. The agreement proposed a new pension scheme that wad pey oot an income based retirement wage as weel as a defined benefit lump sum. The proposed scheme was tae be the first o its kyne in the kintra, an baith Royal Mail an the Communication Workers Union (CWU) agreed tae lobby the UK government tae get the scheme establisht as quickly as possible. Fooiver, accordin tae the CWU, the agreement that they cam tae wi management isnae bein honoured. Anither thing that has disgruntelt postal warkers is the suspicion that Royal Mail are gaun tae brak doon the company, intae littler anes, stairtin wi Parcelforce.

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Sae, back in October they votit tae strike. Mair than 100,000 staff teuk pairt in the ballot. An, it was nae jist a wee majority either - 97% o the members o the CWU votit in faur o strikin. It was thocht that the dates they were gaun tae walk oot wad be aroon Black Friday an Christmas, tae hae the ootmaist impact. But, a month ago, Royal Mail won a legal battle tae put a stop tae the strikes.

In the day’s captitalist climate, strikin is mair necessary than iver, sae that the vyces o warkers are heard. Syne Royal Mail was privatised bi a Tory an Liberal Democrat coalition government in October 2013, them fa are high up in the company seem tae hae been mair interestit in linin rich fowks pooches than leukin aifter warkers’ interests. In the past sax ‘ear weel ower £1 billion has been peyed oot bi Royal Mail tae sharehauders an hedge funds. BlackRock, an American investment management corporation (that hired George Osborne as an advisor for mair than £650,000 per ‘ear) is Royal Mail’s lairgest sharehauder. Jist last wik they upped their haudin in the company tae 5%. Silencin the vyces o warkers is nocht but disgustingly undemocratic. Daein it at the same time as violatin promises made tae them tae gie mair siller tae sharehauders is jist disgraceful.

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A High Court injunction was put in place tae prevent the industrial action fae gaun aheid acause o supposed interference in the votin, by members o staff castin their vote whilst at wark raither than at hame an in private. The CWU was unsuccessful in appealin the High Court decision at the Court o Appeals, an noo nae action can be tane afore the ‘ear is oot. This means that the warker’s union will hae tae wait anither ‘ear tae hae a strike wi ony simmilar amoont o influence.

Ane o the reasons gien bi Royal Mail tae stop the strikes fae happenin was that it wasnae in the public interest considerin the time o ‘ear. But fit the posties are strikin for will affect the public as weel as staff. At the minty, Royal Mail maun adhere tae the Universal Service Obligation. That means that for sax days o the wik onybody can send or receive a delivery for a standart price. Nivertheless, the CWU suspect that, as this is dear for Royal Mail tae dae, they micht cut doon the nummer o delivery days. An, reducin the nummer o delivery days bi jist ae day wad lead tae ane in sax warkers lossin their jobs – a massive chunk o 20,000 jobs are expectit tae be lost fae the warkforce. It wad also mean that the public will be restrictit in fan they can uise the service.

Bi law, a ballot for industrial action in anely valid for sax month, sae the CWU needs tae act fast. It is aa guid an weel that the public coo ower cutesy designs o posties’s vans on social media, but it is aboot time that we opened oor een tae fit is really gaun on. Mony fowk will hae forgotton aa aboot the privatisation back in 2013, but them fa work for Royal Mail cannae forget, acause it continues tae affect their lives.