Along the line

About this book

"Right from the beginning of European settlement New Zealand's need for reliable communications in a thinly populated country meant that the Post Office quickly established itself as an important department of state. The first Post Office employee was appointed in 1840. But in those early days Post Office staff worked long hours, earned very low pay and were constantly under the eye of a restrictive and authoritarian employer. Eventually the workers saw that they must join together is they were to improve their conditions, and so began the story of what we now know as the Post Office Union ... For much of its history the Post Office Union existed in a relatively stable environment; there were always battles to fight but the Post Office itself continued to function as it always had. But the 1984 Lange government changed all that. The destruction of the Post Office on 1 April 1987 and the creation of New Zealand Post, Telecom and Post Bank meant huge challenges for the union as it fought for those whose jobls were lost or massively altered. "Along the line" tells the story of the Post Office Union from 1890 to the present day ..." -- Back cover.