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Postal workers set to strike
12.06.09
Thousands of postal workers in London are to stage a 24-hour strike in a dispute over jobs and services it was announced today.
The move threatens disruption to mail deliveries across the capital.
The Communication Workers Union said up to 10,000 of its members would walk out on June 19 after claiming that the Royal Mail was pressing ahead with "arbitrary" cuts in jobs and services.
Deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: "Royal Mail is blocking modernisation by refusing to negotiate change with the CWU.
"We have offered a moratorium on all strike action if Royal Mail will suspend executive action and enter into meaningful negotiations.
"We want to bring forward the successful transformation of the business by working together.
"There is growing unrest across the country as Royal Mail tries to impose damaging cuts and changes without the input of union reps.
"The future of the business must be safeguarded through careful planning, not shooting from the hip."
Workers in all areas of deliveries, collections and processing across London will take part in the strike and the union warned that further industrial action would be taken if the dispute was not resolved.
A deal was agreed after a national strike in 2007 on negotiating improvements in efficiency and modernisation, which the union said had ensured that the Royal Mail had built steady profits.
Mr Ward accused the company of "ignoring" an agreement to modernise the business and was implementing arbitrary cuts in costs.
"Postal workers deliver a first class service but the current cuts and attitude of management threatens that and worsens services.
"Royal Mail can avert this strike action by pulling back from arbitrary cuts and negotiating modernisation with the CWU."
The union has offered a three-month moratorium on industrial action in a bid to reach an agreement with the Royal Mail on modernising the business.
Reader views (9)
Every in my street a postman parks his van outside his house or nearby, for over 4 hours. Sometimes he walks his dog during this time. On Saturday there were 2 of them. It is people like this who get the Royal Mail a bad name and their colleagues in danger of losing their jobs. How does their manager let them get away with it, surely he sees their manifest and knows roughly how long their route(s) should take.
- Anon, uk
all you people slagging off unions and their members are probably the same people who moan why doesnt anyone stand up for themselves like the french then moan again when they do if you are so jealous of the strikers why not work for the companies with them but then again i suppose you would have to take a pay cut and work unsociable hours you are probably the same people who never vote in elections and then just moan again about who got in remember the saying put up or shut up
- Mark Coleman, london england
Good. I may be able to open the front door now without pushing against a pile of junk I didn't want in the first place.
- Paul, London
In that case you will still get your 1st class mail at the same time...so nothing to worry about.
- Rosie, Watford
The posties had better be careful: the tube infrastructure is a virtual monopoly in London and the drivers cannot be replaced very easily; however, there are any number of companies that will offer to deliver letters and parcels for you.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one
The problem here is that the Royal Mail is stuck in a different decade to most equivalent industries, even though they spend millions on modernisation, the working practices are nearly Victorian, and the large quantity of temporary staff cause more problems than they solve. Saying that, my postie's great.
- Bob, Cheam
I wonder if the posties had Bob Crowe as a strike consultant? Postal union ans tube drivers union - the two last dinosuars on earth. Hope they become extinct, and soon.
- Craig, Ex-pat, Sydney, Australia
I think we will see a lot of staff walking with a limp after shooting themselves in the foot. The train drivers have demonstrated that now is not a good time to strike. There is no public support for strikes. I will be quite happy to get my post a day late.
- Martin H. Watson, Teddington
No one in the UK should complain, after all the next Labour 'PM in waiting' led the last major 'shut down' of the Royal Mail. Why should the Labour party break the habit of a lifetime after all the Royal Mail is a busted flush anyway. That is why we send e-mails and not letters to newspapers !!
- Nick Holland, glasgow
