Union to decide on post service strike
Leaders of 145,000 postal workers will meet tomorrow to decide whether to call a series of strikes as part of a campaign to win a 5% pay rise.
The Communication Workers Union executive meeting follows an overwhelming vote in favour of industrial action.
Options to be discussed will include 24-hour strikes, an overtime ban or a refusal to work Saturdays, which would highlight the union’s drive for a cut in the working week.
Despite the threat of the first national strike for six years, talks between the union and the Royal Mail will continue this week under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas.
Postal group Consignia, which is losing #1 million a day, has warned that a strike would be “catastrophic” as rival firms line up to take more of its business.
The Royal Mail has offered a 2% increase, with a further 0.5% if customer quality of service targets were met, under a package worth more than #60 million.
The union is seeking to increase basic pay to a minimum of #300 a week by October 2003.
Royal Mail said the right way to resolve the dispute was to finish “constructive talks” started two weeks ago at Acas.
