With the two day Royal Mail strike looming and Mr Hayes, the leader of the Communication Workers Union, now receiving comparisons to Arthur Scargill, it may be a useful time to take a step back and give this matter more consideration.
In particular the parties are now receiving pressure to refer this martter to binding arbitration.
Now is a good opportunity to consider what is arbitration and how it differs to mediation.
Arbitration is the imposition of a binding judgment by a 3rd party. Effectively the Roylal Mail and the Trade Unions would agree to refer their dispute to a 3rd party for a judgement. It is not going to Court, it is however subject to rules such as witness statements, advocacy and in my experience is just as likely to be as expensive as going to Court. At the end of the day a decision will be made.
Mediation is where the parties are not subject to a binding resolution, they can walk out of the mediation at any point if they do not like what is happening and the conduct of the mediation is without prejudice and confidentlal. The purpose of the mediation is to find a resolution which all parties can live with.
It is significant that none of the parties have thus referred to mediation. A pity because it avoids the parties becoming entrenched and has a more likely opportunity for the parties to reach a long lasting settlement rather thamn respresenting a throw-back to 1970s/80s employment relations.