Royal Mail’s Unite members balloted over pay dispute
The union Unite has announced that Royal Mail could face possible industrial action by 4,900 of its managers. In a statement published on its website, Unite said: “Ballot papers for industrial action were today (Monday 4 April) dropping on the doormats of the managers, members of Unite, the country’s largest union. The ballot closes on Thursday 21 April.”
Unite said that the ballot was in response to its pay dispute with Royal Mail – but the union also claimed: “The pay dispute is part of a much wider set of problems engulfing the now privately-owned Royal Mail, which include the possible failure to meet its Universal Service Obligation (USO) to deliver letters six days-a-week to 27 million address; massive cost-cutting and redundancies; and the decision of a top fund manager to sell his stake in the company. ”
(The fund manager in question is Neil Woodford, of Woodford Investment Management.)
The Unite statement added: “The managers will be asked to vote on taking strike action and/or industrial action short of a strike after they overwhelmingly rejected a ‘paltry’ 1.3 per cent pay offer for the year starting September 2015 in a consultative ballot.
“Unite is calling for talks under the auspices of the conciliation service Acas, but so far management has declined to take up this offer.”
Unite officer for Royal Mail members Brian Scott commented: “The company’s final pay offer has already been rejected by 95 per cent of Unite members, but the management remains unwilling to sit down and find a way through this difficulty.
“The dispute is about the 1.3 per cent pay offer for some employees, with a non-consolidated lump sum for others. There has been no increase in overtime or allowances.”
UPDATE AT 16:00 GMT, 4 APRIL
Royal Mail has responded to the Unite statement on the ballot.
In a short statement sent to Post&Parcel, a Royal Mail spokesperson commented: “It is disappointing that Unite has chosen to ballot its members.
“However a ballot for industrial action does not mean that any action will take place.
“Royal Mail has engaged Unite in serious discussion around its pay claim from September 2015.
“We maintain that we have put forward a fair and competitive offer, which recognises the efforts of our managers and compares well with current inflation levels. We want to reach agreement so that our managers receive their pay award as quickly as possible.”
