Postal workers in new strike action
Thursday 29th October 2009, 3:45PM GMT.
Postal workers Pete Kelly, Darren Stedman and Paul Stannett on strike outside Shrewsbury sorting office
Hundreds of Shropshire postal workers took part in a fresh wave of strikes today after the collapse of talks aimed at resolving the bitter mail dispute.
About 500 workers from the Royal Mail sorting office in Castle Foregate, Shrewsbury, joined thousands of fellow members of the Communication Workers Union across the country in the 24-hour action, which began at 4am.
It is expected to cause huge disruption to mail deliveries.
The strike went ahead after the failure of three days of talks between union leaders and Royal Mail, under the chairmanship of TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
A war of words has erupted as the Royal Mail accused the union of walking away from the talks and “playing havoc” with customer confidence.
About 43,700 workers across the UK in mail centres, delivery network logistic drivers and garage staff walked out today, 400 workers in Plymouth, Stockport and Stoke who redirect badly-addressed mail will walk out tomorrow, and 77,000 delivery and collection staff will take action on Saturday.
Nearly 700 workers from Shropshire delivery centres such as Oswestry, Wellington and Oakengates are expected to take part in the weekend’s action.
Further strikes could be called by the union unless the deadlocked row over jobs, pay and modernisation is broken.
Pete Kelly, area delivery representative for the Shropshire and Mid Wales branch of the CWU, said staff were hoping for an agre- ement between the union and management.
He said: “People don’t want to lose pay intentionally but the fact is that when you are pushed into a corner and you have got management that doesn’t want to listen to you, what alternative have you got? We’re protecting our rights.”
Royal Mail said that after three days of intensive talks and mediation at the TUC, it was increasingly evident that the CWU leadership, the national officers and the postal executive had “very different views” on the reason for the strikes and how the dispute can be resolved.
CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said there was “every prospect” industrial action will now be stepped up.
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For Christ’s sake are they all so useless that they can’t even find a way to avoid these strikes? Management should tell all workers they’ve got a job for life if that’s what they want to hear (just don’t put it in writing)
Typical men, if a woman was in charge all of this would have been avoided. Get the agency workers in, the cwu might sue but it’ll take so long to get to court they’ll give up before it gets that far.
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These strikes are brilliant! Online companies that I buy from are now using courier firms so I’m getting my purchases delivered in a much more timely fashion and in better condition than I was when the Royal Mail delivered them.
Keep it up lads!
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RIP Royal Mail
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If Royal Mail and the government want to stop the strikes it’s vital that postal workers job security and conditions are guaranteed.
Bringing the whole postal service back into public ownership would help too. Private companies are playing an absolutely parasitic role on the Royal Mail, effectively subsidised by service users. Royal Mail receives just 13p per letter it handles from private contractors compared to 40 odd pence it would get from the purchase of a first class stamp.
Don’t let postal workers pay the price for a crisis caused by the government and Royal Mail senior management. We should back them all the way.
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Shrewsbury resident, Im not altogether up with what is going on, as you seem to support the workers, what is it they are striking for ? thanks
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The Communications Workers Union is the most strike affected union in the whole Union movement. Over 1 million days lost due to strike action so far in the past couple of years and hardly a day goes by without some depot being on strike for some silly reason. The management have much to bear responsibility for but with workers like these it is little wonder that the managers are at their wits end.
Shrewsbury Resident, now, according to you it’s over job security and conditions. We are all being told on TV by the Union leaders that it is over lack of consultation regarding modernisation and change.
What it amounts to is that the workers want to make their own condition and are not prepared to accept anything from the management side. I say sack the lot, they have a death wish and only when they have no job to go to will they realise how lucky they were and how downright stupid and idiotic their antics have been.
I couldn’t care less if the postal services and Royal Mail go to the wall tomorrow, it is obviously what the workers want so why should anyone worry, there are always others who will undertake the job that they lost through striking.
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Bored.
Strike as long as you want..no post = no bills or junk mail… I have email and couriers for important things….forgot the last time i actually used royal mail.
Oh yeah i do, it was 2 years ago on a special delivery…oh but you guessed it…you lost it!
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To all the Postal Workers I say good luck with your strike action to protect your pay and conditions BUT I fear you are fighting a loosing battle.
The government are determined to sell off the one public asset they have to help reduce the national debt.
They are taking the exactly the same route as the Tories did in the 70′s with British Telecom.
When the monopoly is broken, and it will be, then you will be offered new jobs within the new company without the same terms as you have now and for less money.
Some choice isn’t it.
As I said I have seen it all with BT and been involved in it all back in the 70′s.
The Labour party are taking exactly the same route as the Tories did back then.
I really am sorry to say you are not going to win this fight because the whole objective is to raise money irrespective of the outcome for the workers.
Good Luck.
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