A post about post

So, the postal strike is over (for now) and thankfully we can all look forward to a great Christmas, free from the fear of disruption to our festive mail.

It is unlikely that the top brass at Royal Mail and the CWU decided to reach an agreement after listening to my version of “Please Mr Postman”, but I suppose I can claim that my “clunky reworking of The Carpenters’ classic” (see The Guardian blog on the postal strike) was a minor Internet hit.

At the time of blogging, the video had been viewed 1,876 times on the Sky News website and 794 times on YouTube. It was also picked up on by The Guardian, as mentioned earlier. I was even contacted by a blogger who used to be a postie, encouraging me to sing my song on the picket lines.

This was a suggestion that I was seriously considering, but within 24 hours it had been announced that the strikes planned for Friday 6th November and Monday 9th November had been called off, after a deal had been struck.

An interim agreement was reached by Royal Mail and the CWU, guaranteeing that modernisation will be introduced with agreed job security and improved terms and conditions for postal workers, i.e. modernisation by consent. This period of calm will hopefully enable both sides to reach a full and final agreement.

Whether they heard my song or not, those involved seem to have accepted its central message; “We can’t let the postal service fail; you should negotiate to save Royal Mail”. And with that, my work here is done. Don't you worry about it.