Royal Mail
Content about workers' struggles, strikes, privatisation and events related to the Royal Mail.
Unofficial action at Royal Mail continues
Despite official strikes being called off, wildcat strikes and other disputes continue in the postal service.
Belfast
Postal workers in Belfast have won an important victory against management after unofficial action on Friday of last week. It took the workers just one and a half hours to force down bosses’ attempts to change start times.
Managers insisted that the workforce put forward their start times by two hours.
Post strike announcement due today
Postal workers are waiting to hear today if they'll be asked to vote on a deal between the CWU and Royal Mail, ten days after it was agreed.
CWU bosses Billy Hayes and Dave Ward met with Royal Mail's Adam Crozier and Allan Leighton on the 12th of October, signing a deal just hours after Royal Mail had gained an injunction to prevent further strike action scheduled for the beginning of last week.
Post strike wildcats spread
Wildcat strikes at Royal Mail have spread across London and the rest of the UK this week.
Almost all offices in North, East, South East and South West London have walked out, along with Liverpool; Edinburgh, Chester, Fife, Livingston, Peterborough, Dalkeith, Bristol, Leicester, Grangemouth, Kilwinning and Kent, also on unofficial strike. Glasgow walked out earlier in the week but have returned to work.
Royal Mail battle plans leaked
As wildcats erupt across the UK, the royalmailchat.co.uk forum has obtained a copy of Royal Mail's battle plans for the current negotiations with the CWU.
The document, a powerpoint presentation sent to general managers shortly after further strikes were announced in September, outlines Royal Mail's endgames for the talks. It includes a whole range of measures which postal workers said today would destroy the postal service if brought in.
Highlights include:
- No more negotiations with the CWU on every subject at every level
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 wildcat in Burslem
Workers at Burslem delivery office, Stoke-on-Trent, are on wildcat strikes after twelve members of staff were suspended including all union reps.
Royal Mail management suspended the workers for bullying and harrassment, but has refused to comment on the allegations made. Their colleagues walked out unofficially in support of the twelve suspended and remain on strike.
Royal Mail: Stockport wildcat strikers return to work whilst national talks extended until Sunday
Several hundred workers at Stockport Mail Centre returned to work today having walked out unofficially on Friday. Meanwhile national talks between the CWU leadership and Royal Mail have been extended until Sunday.
Workers at Stockport returned today after agreeing to ballot for official strike action. They had walked out on Friday following a mass meeting in the canteen. The walkout occurred shortly after a driver was sacked due allegations made by a scab during the official strike action last month.
update: according to posters on royalmailchat.co.uk
UK: Workers at Royal Mail contractors Romec strike
Following an overwhelming 12 to 1 yes vote for industrial action, engineers and admin workers are Romec are due to strike today over a sub-inflation pay offer.
A 24 hour strike is scheduled 6am Friday 31 August 2007 until 6 am Saturday 1st September 2007 for all Romec Engineers and Admin grades.
The CWU stated that union negotiators held a meeting with management on Tuesday 21st August 2007; but were unable to make any clear progress.
The CWU website had this announcement:
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.
