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Royal Mail closure is part of the outsourcing of Liverpool

Steve Higginson gives his view on how the city is being changed.

I must admit even I was taken aback by the recent announcement of Royal Mail that they intended to close the Processing Mail Centre at Copperas Hill and relocate to Warrington. The reason for my surprise is simple really, as I was one of the union (CWU) negotiators back in 1996-1998, when a similar announcement was made. The agreement signed-off in 1998 was clear in its stipulation that if Liverpool Mail Centre reached productivity targets its future was guaranteed.

So the intention was clear back in 1998, not a foreseeable or near future, but a guaranteed future. Today, under a re-organisation plan, the past has been resurrected with a vengeance. The transference to Warrington is nothing but a continuum of the outsourcing of Liverpool. We do not need a Tory think tank to tell us that Liverpool needs to be closed down and dispersed to all corners of the UK, it is already happening under Labour.

A recent general meeting of Liverpool postal workers agreed a seven point plan of action. This plan contains various points, but in particular to test under law - including European law - the fact that part time women will be unable to travel to Warrington, as the length of time travelling will hinder childcare/domestic arrangements, so any move could be seen as constructive dismissal.

Also the size of the carbon footprint - whereby Liverpool postal containers will be up and down the motorway - will be hugely increased, and this is in direct contradiction of government/European conventions on reducing carbon emissions.

There is also the possibility that a policy be formulated whereby recent announcements by worldwide freight companies - that they intend to start using the waterways rather than the motorways in terms of ferrying cargo - can be utilised and Liverpool will become the first port of call rather than the last point on a rail/road transport system.

The Postal workforce in Liverpool awaits talks at a national level. But what is clear is that irrespective of the Liverpool 08 façade, there is a policy to outsource Liverpool completely, with an intention to turn the city into a gigantic concrete theme park. In a situation whereby globalisation equates to mobile capital that is here today and gone tomorrow, we have to ensure the Royal Mail Processing function remains in Liverpool not just for today ………but for tomorrow.

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