Public service vs business
In very few situations is there a clearer difference: public service vs business. I’m referring to the current labour conflict within our postal system.
Back, before most people cared about such things, you bought stamps, mailed your letter and waited for it to arrive at destination. We didn’t do the math on how 12 cents could move something across a continent, while assuring financial success to all involved. Actually, it didn’t; the government had the reins in hand, and life went along.
Until, at some point, the model broke. The employees wanted better conditions and remuneration. The government wanted less of a drain on finite financials. I wasn’t privy to the background story (as a taxpayer, we rarely are). A degree of privatization was applied, the cost of a stamp rose like the mercury on hot July morning. Volumes dropped, due to new things (hint, email).
And now, hours before Black Friday, the two adversaries are left trying to negotiate a settlement.
The post office has suggested a truce, the time to get the seasonal backup cleared away. The employees recognize that their “advantage” will last only so long as there is pressure on the system (seasonal backup). The government has not given a “wink and a nod” to either side.
As I stated, earlier this week, maybe this is not a good time to be a concerned shopper. You might find a good price for something, but the delivery will be luck, not process. I’m sorry we let a great system slide into near anarchy.
