COLUMNISTS Industrial militancy tends to be suppressed by recessions: in the first half of this year, days lost through strikes ran close to record lows. But there are startling exceptions. The 1984-85 miners’ strike took place at the peak of postwar unemployment. Now postal workers threaten strikes as joblessness heads towards 3m.
The common factor is that workers in publicly owned industries in structural decline often think they can resist their fate. It happened too in the steel, shipbuilding and auto sectors. The Communication Workers Union wants to protect jobs, pay and working conditions, but its action may accelerate Royal Mail’s decline.
