2010-2012 Pacitalian postal strike
The 2010-2012 Pacitalian postal strike was an industrial action in the Pacitalian Republic. It was the result of a labour dispute between the Pacitalian government and the Communications, Paperworkers and Media Union (SCPM), which represents employees of Corriere Nazionale, Pacitalia's state-owned postal service.
The government failed to reach a new collective agreement in the months prior to the strike. The strike action, which forced Corriere Nazionale to completely suspend operations, commenced on May 17, 2010. With the strike's end on May 14, 2012, at a total length of 729 days, just three days short of two calendar years, it far surpassed the coal miners' strike of 1985-86 (293 days) as the longest industrial action in Pacitalian history.
The dispute had been sent to several rounds of mediation and arbitration, without success. It negatively impacted public opinion of the Brunate government, to the point that the Federation of Progressive Democrats regained power at the next election. Initially benefitting from widespread public sympathy, the general reputation of postal workers was also greatly affected. Support for striking workers also dwindled over time. It culminated in instances of socially uncharacteristic violence and harassment against postal workers.
The two-year strike action continued to have severe long-term implications for Corriere Nazionale, which became a fraction of its former self as a result of the act of government that forced postal workers back on the job and restructured the ailing corporation. It was also consequential in that it restored the postal service's traditional banking services, with the creation of Postbank (Pacitalia).
Background
Corriere Nazionale has long been a target of some conservative politicians, who favour spending cuts and reductions in the size of government, advocating for mass privatization. Due to external pressures, and competition from private logistics companies, Corriere had lost money every year since 1990. However, most national governments had avoided any attempts at service cuts or changes to the postal service, as these moves were very unpopular among the public.
Many MRPs, especially on the right, have called Corriere bloated, inefficient or bureaucratic. Regardless of which party is in power, the government has generally viewed the postal company as a vital government service and an essential part of Pacitalia's communications and logistical services network.
Strike action loomed over the postal service for several years, largely because the SCPM, like other labour unions, felt that a centre-right FPD government would take an adversarial position in contract and collective agreement negotiations with unionized government employees, regardless of what the union's demands actually might be.
The FPD, though ideologically opposed to labour unions, was never outwardly hostile to unions while in power, and, when compared to previous governments, did largely view the same value in a state-owned enterprise like Corriere. As a result of its pragmatic approach to labour relations, FPD governments historically managed to avoid conflict with public sector employees and the unions representing them, even if the party was more likely to try to shrink the public sector.
However, the election of a new centre-left coalition government in 2009 was expected to hand greater negotiating power to labour unions and strengthen their position. Two of the parties in the coalition, the Pacitalian Social Congress and the Democratic Nationalist Party, were ideologically left-wing, and had a long history of co-operation with and support of the labour movement.
The new prime minister, Gabrielo Brunate, named several people with ties to organized labour to his cabinet, with many of them in roles that would see constant interaction with the labour movement. One such person was Tomás de la Marques, a PSC MRP and former organiser for the Conagresso Generale del Lavoro, who had served as an agustinate in the Chiovitti government. He was named to become the minister in charge of an expanded portfolio, "Energy, Natural Resources and Public Utilities", taking on the responsibility of supervising nearly all of Pacitalia's state-owned enterprises (including Corriere Nazionale).
The existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Corriere Nazionale and SCPM postal workers had expired at midnight on December 31, 2009. From then on, workers were on the job without a contract. As the postal service took advantage of the expired contract and moved to cut hours, slash pay, eliminate positions without cause, or limit benefits for new hires (prior to freezing hiring all together), workers became increasingly agitated, and speculation of a general strike intensified.
Eventually, the likelihood of negotiating a new CBA in good faith evaporated, and the SCPM voted to strike in a general assembly and telephone ballot on May 5, 2010. Just over 92 percent of workers favoured strike action. The union served seven-day strike notice five days later.