Simon Thompson, who grew up in the market town of North East Darlington, has fond memories of attending the upcoming Durham Miners Gala in the 70s and 80s.
For many working-class families, the annual union jamboree was – and continues to be – a highlight of the social calendar.
“My grandfather was one of them [Arthur] The Scargill guys, ”says the executive director of Royal Mail.
“He was great [trade] trade unionist. I remember when I was little, they always did the Durham miners gala. With all the banners. I haven’t been there for years, but I remember it very well “, he adds with a small laugh.
Convincing many of the working classes of the merits of change is a serious task, as Thompson witnessed firsthand as he grew up.
“My grandfather and father had a somewhat tenuous relationship. My father decided he wanted to continue his education; he became an accountant. I think he was the first to move away from what his father would have thought. [was normal]. ”
With Margaret Thatcher dominating the polls, politics was an even more sensitive issue.
“Whenever there were general elections, my father and grandfather would never see each other for months,” he says.
Four decades later, after a career that included stays at Apple, Ocado, Honda and as managing director of the NHS testing and tracing program, Thompson is witnessing another industrial dispute. But far from an innocent young spectator, he’s right in the middle.
On Tuesday, 115,000 members of the Union of Communication Workers (CWU) are expected to support the strike in the former state postal monopoly. They oppose the reforms in “Amazon-ify” Royal Mail and call for sharp wage increases.
Speaking from the Royal Mail headquarters above the rating office in Islington, north London, the 55-year-old refuses to be drawn to the “yes and no” results of the vote.
It’s no secret that the company has been stuck in the dark ages for too long, as Thompson’s predecessors have struggled to point out. Since it was privatized by the coalition government under David Cameron in 2013, Royal Mail’s fortune has been volatile, usually determined by the support, or lack thereof, of powerful unions determined to maintain the labor practices of a bygone era. .
“There are things we are doing now, they are absolutely ready [cutting] edge. And yet, there are other things than when you walk around and see yourself saying, ‘Oh come on!’ ”He says.
“During my time here as CEO, we won’t have our Kodak moment.”
Thompson does not mean this in a positive sense. Rather, it refers to the American photography company’s refusal to accept the digital age, which changed Kodak from a household name to a corporate one.
The same fate awaits Royal Mail if the unions come out with theirs, he argues: “We have the opportunity here and we must seize it.”
“All of our work patterns in delivery are based on what we used to do with the letters,” he says. “We start at the same time, finish at the same time and do a six-day week. But that’s not what our customers want.
“We need to make sure we have a homework pattern that covers seven days a week,” Thompson adds. “We need later start hours so we can have these deliveries later in the day.”
Automated but unused
A brief tour of the Mount Pleasant site, once the world’s largest rating office, reveals some of the enigma of Royal Mail’s work practices.