CWU stages Parliament Square protest in support of “The People’s Post” campaign
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has today (9 July) been staging an impromptu protest at Parliament Square as part of the launch of “The People’s Post” campaign. The new General Secretary of the CWU Dave Ward was at the head of a procession of 500 CWU members marching to Parliament Square.
The CWU said that the protest aimed to “highlight the threat to daily deliveries and postal workers’ terms and conditions from Royal Mail privatisation and aggressive regulation from Ofcom”.
In a statement issued today, the CWU outlined the six-point agenda of The People’s Post campaign:
- New legislation to safeguard Daily Deliveries
- An overhaul of regulation to stop Ofcom targeting postal workers’ employment standards
- An end to the Selloff of Taxpayers’ Shares in Royal Mail
- The Living Wage as a Legal Minimum for the Postal Sector
- Stronger Protections for Postal Customers
- The setting up of a Workers Share Trust in Royal Mail for staff.
Ahead of the protest at Parliament Square, the CWU’s General Secretary, Dave Ward, said: “The CWU today is making it clear to the government and the regulator that whether Royal Mail is in public or private hands we are not going away and we will not remain silent as the postal service and postal workers’ terms and conditions are eroded.
“The postal service exists to serve the interests of the public and businesses which rely on it. Neither privatisation nor a failed regulatory model have been driven by this.
“Unlike Ofcom we don’t see an industry’s willingness to embrace zero hours contracts and minimum wage employment as a sign of success. When the body in charge of protecting an industry thinks its role is driving down the terms and conditions of postal workers on £21,000 a year, or promoting competition at the expense of the services the vast majority of us rely on, something has gone fundamentally wrong.
“The parcels market has become the wild west with bogus self-employment and piece rate pay below the minimum wage. But the regulator has nothing to say about this. Everyone has a story about parcel deliveries that never arrive or packages being thrown over a fence or left in a bin. It’s a damning indictment of Ofcom that it’s ignored this.”
Ward concluded: “The CWU will stand by our customers, our members and the service that we provide. We will protect The People’s Post.”
