postal service
News and articles about work, policy and struggles in the communications sector, from telecoms to postal and delivery services around the world.
More wildcats at Royal Mail
Wildcat postal strikes have sprung up around the UK at the end of an official 48-hour Royal Mail walkout.
130,000 Communication Workers Union (CWU) members returned to work today after the latest four day strikes, but the introduction of later starts by executive action has led to mass walkouts in Glasgow, Lancaster, Liverpool, and London, with more offices to follow.
Postal workers begin two 48-hour strikes
Royal Mail workers have started the first of two 48-hour walkouts over pay and conditions since the suspension of strike action for talks in August.
Last-minute talks between Royal Mail managers and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) failed to reach a deal, and the strike started at noon. A second two-day strike is scheduled to begin at 3am on Monday, 8 October, after which rolling strikes will occur on a weekly basis with different functions on different days.
Rural mail carriers in Alberta wildcat
Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers in northern Alberta, Canada Wildcatted on Monday September 24th. Mail delivery was cut off in Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Nisku, Edson, Hinton and Delton Depot in Edmonton.
Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers in northern Alberta, Canada Wildcatted on Monday September 24th. Mail delivery was cut off in Stony Plain, Spruce Grove, Nisku, Edson, Hinton and Delton Depot in Edmonton. The strike action was in response to Canada Post offering a select group of employees at two depots in Alberta a 35% raise while bypassing the vast majority of Rural and Suburban Workers.
CWU announces further strikes
The CWU yesterday has declared that there will be two 48 hour strikes at the beginning of October. Below is the official statement, reproduced for reference.
Taken from the CWU website:
Comments on the recent summer postal strike - by a striker, 2007
A postman looks at recent developments and future implications in the recently suspended strike.
Why was the strike called off?
The obvious answer is that the union called the strikes off because Royal Mail (RM) was willing to negotiate. Dave Ward publicly offered for the union that if RM would enter "meaningful" negotiations they were willing to call off the pending action.
UK: Post Office strikes continue
Workers at Crown Post Offices struck yesterday and on Friday, and are due to strike again tomorrow to stop plans to outsource services to WH Smiths.
While management tried to downplay the effects of the strike, the CWU claimed that members supported the strikes in overwhelming numbers. Post Office Limited (POL) Head Office was placed in disarray due to severe staff shortages as managers were once again forced to travel at great cost across the country to cover members’ jobs.
Royal Mail strikes suspended for talks as work to rule continues
Royal Mail and the CWU leadership announced the suspension of strike action for three weeks for talks. Meanwhile, on the job and unofficial action continues.
Postal workers were just about to resume a second two weeks of rolling strike action, which has already built up 10-14 days backlog at Royal Mail depots around the country.
More strikes at the Post Office and Royal Mail
Crown post offices are to go on strike this week against plans to transfer services to WH Smith, while Royal Mail workers begin their third week of rolling strikes.
The Post Office Ltd. wants to shut 85 post offices and shift services over to the much lower-paid workers at WH Smith, as part of its overall plan to close around 1,000 post offices. Post Office Ltd.
Dispatch 1 - Royal Mail strikes, August 2007
First issue of a bulletin about the public sector pay struggles of summer 2007 by a group of workers around libcom.org. This issue focusses on postal workers.
Available here in TIF and here in PDF format. The text follows:
Dispatch
Public sector pay dispute — information for action
Issue 1 - August 2007
Royal Mail workers: Fighting to win
Doing the job as it’s meant to be done
Scotland: Postal staff vote to end wildcat strike
60% of post workers from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen have voted to return to work after both a wildcat strike that started on Tuesday.
However, the CWU's round of 'staggered stoppages' was due to end on 7 of August but has now been extended by at least two weeks. Therefore workers in Scotland will be back out on strike again, and so staff from working sections of Royal Mail coming in contact with picket lines from striking sections will still be an issue.
