CWU
London postal workers strike set for Friday, other regions to be balloted
Royal Mail is braced for further industrial unrest, with unions expected to ballot more regions for strike action as early as this week. It follows the vote last week by postal workers in London to stage a 24-hour walkout this Friday.
With plans to privatise the state-owned group in disarray, Jonathan DeCarteret, from the consultancy Post-Switch, is predicting that the London vote will prove to be the "starting pistol in a long summer of industrial strike action".
Postal workers in Lincoln stage wildcat strike
Postal services in Lincoln have been disrupted for the third day running as postal workers continue to stage a wildcat strike over the introduction of van-sharing.
Workers say they have not been trained for the revisions and that there is no national agreement via the union for the introduction of the changes but Royal Mail says that the changes were agreed with the CWU as part of a modernisation agreement and that the strike action is unlawful.
Christmas strikes could hit Royal Mail
Workers in Coventry, Crewe, Liverpool, Stockport, Bolton and Oxford are threatening 24-hour strike action on Friday over the proposed merger of some depots. The Communication Workers Union says 500 jobs could be lost and has challenged Royal Mail to negotiate.
The firm's plans include transferring work from the mail centre in Weston, Crewe, and the Copperas Hill sorting office in Liverpool to a new regional centre in Warrington. Royal Mail has said Copperas Hill is no longer viable in the face of falling mail volumes.
Pay: what went wrong in 2007?
Libcom's analysis of what went wrong with the industrial disputes over the rising cost of living in 2007, and how to do things better in 2008.
A 'Summer of Discontent', Gordon Brown preaching pay restraint, union leaders talking about 'co-ordinated strike action', sound familiar? It should, because exactly the same things were being said last year.
Manx Telecom workers to strike this Friday
Non-management staff at Manx telecom are to strike over pay on Friday.
The workers, represented by the Communication Workers Union, have been offered a 4.1% pay rise by the company, meaning in real terms a pay cut. Official inflation in the Isle of Man is running at 6.5%, though as workers spend more on necessities such as food and gas, which have seen global price hikes in the past year, they are more severely hit by inflation in necessities.
Strike threat resurfaces at Royal Mail
Hot on the heels of the wildcat strikes over pay in 2007, Royal Mail faces the threat of a new round of industrial action.
Unions have rejected the postal group's plan to overhaul its pensions scheme and are poised to ballot nearly 150,000 members over whether they back the plan or not.
Burslem postal workers extend strike
Postal workers at Burslem delivery office step up their dispute by extending their current 15 day strike by a further fortnight.
The 100 strikers, member of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), are refusing to deliver mail until at least 16th January following a meeting between workers. The extension came ahead of talks between the union and Royal Mail.
Burslem postal workers strike over Christmas
Postal workers at the Burslem delivery office start industrial action in a dispute over the suspension of 12 colleagues.
Burslem Delivery Office has been the site of a large number of unofficial walkouts this year, alongside the official strike action in August and October.
UK: Royal Mail workers vote yes to settlement
Breaking news: 64% of postal workers voted to accept a settlement offer from Royal Mail bosses, which failed to meet many of the demands of strikers.
The vote was on a 64% turnout.
Many workers have reacted angrily to the news, with one employee on Royal Mail Chat stating:
Quote:
This is a s**t deal!.. We better all head to Tescos and HOPE that we get jobs there! Cause this job is f****d! If I get my hands on those crooked union reps or royal mail management bastards, they're all dead I tell you!
Examining the 2007 Royal Mail dispute
Rob Ray explains the introduction of competition to the postal service, and why it will be the government, not postal workers, who the public have to thank for the loss of cheap post and the universal service.
The problem, according to headlines in the mainstream press, was a 2.5% pay rise being offered by Royal Mail to its 190,000 workers, along with some vague problems to do with ‘terms and conditions’.
The reality of what is being faced by the postal workers is far more complex and vastly more damaging, not just for them, but for everyone who wants to be sure of getting their mail.
