London Postal Union Votes to Strike
Royal Mail’s hopes of putting its strife-torn industrial relations record behind it and returning to profit this year were dealt a blow yesterday after a key group of postal workers voted to strike over pay. Postmen in Royal Mail’s London division voted by an overwhelming majority on a 68 per cent turnout to take industrial action in a dispute over London weighting. The strike vote by 30,000 London postal workers took the shine off Royal Mail’s announcement that losses last year halved to £611m while the number of strike days fell by 90 per cent to the lowest level in a decade. The company also unveiled a £4.6bn hole in its pension fund which will force it to end its contributions holiday and start pumping £100m a year into the scheme. Adam Crozier, the company’s new chief executive, said he was confident that Royal Mail could move into profit in the current financial year. The former Football Association boss added that he has been ‘hugely impressed by the pride and commitment of our people’ since arriving at Royal Mail in February.
