Postal workers vote for national strike
Updated on 08 October 2009
Postal workers vote in favour of a national walkout in a dispute over pay and jobs, the Communication Workers Union has announced.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) announced this afternoon its members at the Royal Mail have backed industrial action. They said that 76 per cent who took part in the ballot voted for strike action.
The union will have to give seven days notice of a strike, raising the threat of industrial action across the country by the end of the month, just two years after the last national stoppage.
The ballot follows months of failed negotiations and regional stoppages. CWU members have been in a bitter row with the Royal Mail over jobs, pay and services since June.
The Union claims that jobs are being lost, pay cuts and services reduced, as Royal Mail management tries to cut costs.
The Royal Mail disputes these claims, insisting that it is only pressing ahead with agreed modernisation of the business in order to compete with rival firms.
Deputy general secretary of the CWU Dave Ward said: "This is a huge vote of no confidence in Royal Mail management. The company has tried to make out that problems only exist in some local offices, but postal workers across the UK have now spoken and they say no to Royal Mail's arrogance."
Both the Royal Mail and the CWU have accused each other of reneging on a modernisation deal signed following the last national strike in 2007.
The Royal Mail says modernisation is essential for the company to survive the recession. It is currently facing an annual decline in mail volumes of 10 per cent. The CWU claims the figure is actually closer to seven per cent.
The CWU says that the "scale of change planned by the Royal Mail is frightening and unprecedented". The union accuses Royal Mail of carrying out changes "by diktat" without considering its staff.
Just last month, after yet more unsuccessful negotiations, the CWU released secretly filmed footage of the alleged mass backlog of post in sorting offices across the UK. The union claimed nearly 22 million items were still undelivered as a result of strikes. The Royal Mail dismissed this saying the actual figure was closer to 4 million.
Hundreds of businesses have suffered from the backlog, with some having to pay clients and customers for delays in their own services. A number of business groups have called upon the government to intervene in the dispute.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson had originally planned to part-privatise the Royal Mail. These plans, which involved bailing out the firm's £10bn pension deficit, were shelved in the summer, but the business secretary has insisted that the need for modernisation has not gone away.
In July he accused postal workers of adopting a "head-in-the-sand" approach to reform and condemned their plans to strike. He said: "The Royal Mail needs to change and modernise to turn itself round and compete effectively".
The results of the CWU ballot should be announced this afternoon. Last month the Royal Mail condemned the Union's decision to hold a national ballot, arguing it was "totally unjustified".
