Royal Mail’s Unite members vote for industrial action
Royal Mail managers who are members of the Unite union have voted in favour of industrial action in support of a dispute over pay. According to a statement issued today (21 April) by Unite: “The managers, members of Unite, the country’s largest union, voted by 78% to take strike action and by 93% for industrial action short of a strike.”
The vote follows on from the Unite members’ rejection of a 1.3% pay offer.
Unite said that it has now called for “urgent and constructive talks with Royal Mail’s management”.
Unite’s officer for Royal Mail members, Brian Scott, said: “We are already consulting our Royal Mail reps to decide what form the industrial action could take.
“We could be talking about an all-out strike which would cause severe disruption to deliveries to 27m addresses, but, in the first instance, we are likely to call upon our members to work to rule.
“Any action would have a detrimental impact on business and commerce.
“Unite repeats its offer for constructive talks with management at any time, any place to seek a fair settlement to this long-running dispute.”
UPDATE 22 APRIL 2016
Royal Mail has said that it is “very disappointed” with the Unite members’ vote in favour of industrial action – but added that it still wants to reach an agreement and it has “robust contingency plans in place” in the event of any action.
In a statement sent to Post&Parcel yesterday evening (21 April), a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Royal Mail is very disappointed that members of Unite have voted in favour for industrial action and action short of strike over the 2015 pay offer for junior and middle managers. Any action or threat of action is damaging to our business.
“Royal Mail has proposed an average pay increase of 1.3% in base pay or a one off payment equivalent to 1.3% depending on a managers’ grade. This offer follows several months of discussions with Unite. We believe the pay offer is fair and competitive and was ahead of inflation at the time the offer was made in September. It also compares well with other external pay offers in the UK.
“Royal Mail notes that of those eligible to vote, 56 per cent did not vote or returned a vote for strike action. We want to reach agreement with Unite. In the event of any action, we have robust contingency plans in place to ensure we continue to deliver a high quality service.”
