ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates and analyses these issues by considering the industrial relations of postal systems in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Canada, Canada is included as a non-European postal system. It reviews the industrial relations of the countries' mail systems on an individual basis. To summarise the position with regard to strikes, postal workers in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Spain appear to have taken less action than those in Britain. The brief examination of the industrial relations of postal services in the nine main countries indicates there are a number of similar configurations existing throughout the relationships between the market, state, union and workforce and a number of similar processes of marketisation and mobilisation taking place. Finally, with regard to the extent and nature of militancy established for postal workers in Britain, their militancy is at least on a par with that found amongst the most strike-prone postal workers.
