Thousands of Post Office workers walk out on strike
Thousands of Post Office workers walk out on strike as their union also prepares for 19 days of stoppages in separate battle against Royal Mail
- Members of the Communication Workers Union are taking action for 24 hours
- It is a separate row to the current pay and conditions dispute in the Royal Mail
- A CWU official said the union had to call a strike because its legal mandate for taking action was about to expire
Thousands of Post Office workers have walked out on strike in a dispute over pay.
Members of the Communication Workers Union are taking action for 24 hours in a separate row to the pay and conditions dispute in the Royal Mail.
CWU official Andy Furey said the union had to call a strike because its legal mandate for taking action was about to expire.
‘It’s really a ridiculous aspect of the law. It had not been our intention to call further strikes, but the attitude of the employer, in the context of our need to comply with statutory legislation, left us with no choice.
‘We are confident that the strike – the sixth strike of CWU Post Office members – will be as solidly supported as each of the previous actions.
‘And unless there is a serious pay offer, with increased money on offer, then not only will this action go ahead, but we will also begin the process of undertaking a second national strike ballot.’
Ambulance workers are also set to vote on strike action in a dispute over pay with a consultative ballot among members of the GMB union showing overwhelming support for a formal vote.
Thousands of Post Office workers have walked out on strike in a dispute over pay
Members of the Communication Workers Union are taking action for 24 hours in a separate row to the pay and conditions dispute in the Royal Mail
Reacting on Twitter, one user wrote: ‘This is not the answer. I’m ex-RM and a massive advocate of the organisation and the staff’
Another added: ‘I’m a young small business owner on minimum wage (I’ve worked for RM). I won’t be able to support myself if I stay through a month more of this’
The CWU said the Post Office had increased the pay offer for 2022/23 from an initial 2 per cent with a £250 cash lump sum to 5 per cent with a £500 cash lump sum.
But it said this was still ‘some considerable way behind’ current inflation levels.
A Post Office spokesperson said: ‘We want to assure our customers that the vast majority of our 11,500 branches are unaffected by the CWU decision to strike and will be open throughout the day.
‘There are 114 branches, typically in city centres, that are directly managed by Post Office and on previous strike days over half have opened as usual.
‘We’re disappointed that the CWU have made the decision to strike but remain hopeful that we can reach a pay agreement soon.’
Reacting on Twitter, one user wrote: ‘This is not the answer. I’m ex-RM and a massive advocate of the organisation and the staff.
Ambulance workers to vote on taking strike action in pay row
Ambulance workers are to vote on strike action in a dispute over pay.
A consultative ballot among members of the GMB union at Yorkshire Ambulance Service showed overwhelming support for a formal vote on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.
The GMB said paramedics and ambulance workers are angry over the Government’s 4 per cent pay award, which leaves them facing ‘yet another massive real terms pay cut’.
GMB official Deanne Ferguson said: ‘Ambulance staff should not be worrying about how they’ll heat their homes this winter or feed their families, whilst carrying out a crucial service across our communities.
‘The service is crumbling, and it is having an impact on everyone – it is only surviving because of the amazing workers holding it together, through goodwill.
‘GMB members have had enough, they are angry – and that’s why they want to move to a formal ballot for strike action.
‘GMB will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our members as we fight for an above inflation pay rise for our NHS heroes.’
Dates for a formal strike ballot will be announced in the coming days.
‘However the damage this will cause to the volume letters market will be horrific and yet again drive marketers and transactional mailers online, thus further reducing mail volumes.’
Another said: ‘This is a step too far. I own an e-commerce business and use RM to deliver products.
‘As a direct result of this strike action, I’ll be moving to another courier permanently. If every e-commerce business did this, there would be mass RM redundancies and no pay rise to strike over.’
One commented: ‘I’m self employed and the strikes have costs me thousands of £££ so far. Last strike caused RM to lose over 170 items which I had to refund/ redo.
‘The strikes keep causing massive backlogs during which a lot of deliveries seem to go missing. Time to move to another service.’
Another added: ‘I’m a young small business owner on minimum wage (I’ve worked for RM). I won’t be able to support myself if I stay through a month more of this; I’m already struggling with late/lost claims. I understand your needs, but I’m also worried you’ll lose your jobs if we disappear.’
It comes as Royal Mail workers will walk out on 19 days, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as union chiefs threaten delivery chaos over the Christmas period.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced it will take strike action in October and November across a mixture of single days with rolling action across Royal Mail Group’s network.
The union warns it will have a ‘dramatic impact’ and will cover peak delivery periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas build-up.
Union chiefs have made the move following a threat over what they have labelled an ‘outrageous’ decision by Royal Mail Group’s senior management to withdraw from major national agreements, push ahead with cuts to workers’ terms and conditions and ‘completely sideline’ the union.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward today said: ‘This is a significant announcement, but it is one which matches the level of anger our members feel at the way Royal Mail Group has treated them.
Communication Workers Union Dave Ward pictured speaking to Royal Mail postal workers as they stand on a picket line outside a delivery office in north London earlier this month
‘The chief executive of Royal Mail Group is treating postal workers as if they are stupid. These are the same people that have kept the country connected and returned Royal Mail Group to record profit.
‘Postal workers across the UK now face the fight of their lives to save their jobs and the service they provide to every household and business in the UK.
‘We call on everyone to stand with their local postal worker. If Royal Mail Group are allowed to get away with this then it sends a green light to every rogue big business in the UK.
‘We will not stand by and see the Royal Mail Group become the next P&O but we need your backing to win.’
But a spokesperson for Royal Mail said it is currently losing £1million and the strikes will only act to ‘make our financial position worse’.
A statement added: ‘On September 22, Royal Mail invited CWU to enter into talks through Acas to find a resolution to our dispute on change and pay.
‘This evening, rather than responding to our offer of Acas talks, the CWU announced further damaging industrial action, once again taking the path of prolonging disruption over resolution.
Striking Royal Mail workers gather on a picket line outside Camden Town Delivery Office on September 8
‘Royal Mail is losing £1 million a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands. We operate in a competitive market, and our customers have choices.
‘Further strikes and resistance to transformation by CWU will only make our financial position worse, and threatens the long-term job security of our postmen and women.
‘The CWU has a responsibility to recognise the reality of the situation Royal Mail faces as a business and engage urgently on the changes required.
‘We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause. We are doing all we can to minimise any delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.’
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