Postal workers vote to strike
Author: By Alan Jones, Press Association
The Communication Workers Union said its members backed a nationwide walkout
by 3-1 in protest at the “imposition” of changes to working
practices as well as cuts in their pay and job losses.
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 CWU said 76 per cent of those who took part in the ballot voted for a
strike.
Deputy general secretary 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.
“Royal Mail has never really been engaged in modernisation. They’ve been
running down the business, running down services and cutting costs and it’s
that business plan that postal workers have overwhelmingly rejected today.
“There’s still an opportunity to reach an agreement before any national strike
action takes place.
“We need a national agreement which secures a fair deal on modernisation and
reward for the efforts of postal workers in transforming the business. We
want reassurances on job security, covering both redundancies and full-time
part-time ratios.
“Crucial to an agreement is fair workloads with agreed standards of
measurement. Constantly disciplining postal workers will not improve
efficiencies but will drive an ever bigger wedge between workers and what
they are told is modernisation.
“We’ve seen cuts and increased workloads and now we need an agreed roll-out of
real modernisation. Aligning the interests of customers, employees and the
company as a whole is a prerequisite for the successful modernisation of
Royal Mail.
“The Government must act now to resolve the pensions deficit which is
crippling the Royal Mail’s finances and chances to modernise effectively.”
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