Calls for postal strike rejected as union starts talks on pay dispute
Militant London membersof the postal union havebeen reined in after leaders rejected their calls for strike action over pay.
Leaders at the Communication Workers Union said last night there were no plans for a strike and that negotiations with Royal Mail were “only beginning” after certain London members threatened to call for industrial action.
The CWU is hoping to reach a compromise on a pay increase proposed by Royal Mail, tied to controversial productivity demands.
These include the protracted drive to introduce a single daily delivery and changes to the transport network that will involve some voluntary redundancies.
Representatives of the 32,000 postal workers in the capital have already voted for an industrial action ballot in response to a Royal Mail offer to increase their London weighting by what they see as a miserly Pounds 100 a year. An additional Pounds 200 is on the table, but this would only be triggered by every London office achieving the productivity improvements.
Members of the union were angered on Tuesday after Allan Leighton, Royal Mail’s chairman, bypassed negotiators by sending a letter directly to all 180,000 postal men and women to explain the proposals.
The CWU said last night that it would ask Royal Mail to clarify the conditions under which the full 14.5 per cent pay increase would be delivered.
But it said that if certain London members wanted a strike, they would have to clear it with the executive of the CWU. “That would put us in a difficult position because we’re just starting negotiations with Royal Mail.”
Royal Mail claims it is offering staff a 14.5 per cent increase over the next 18 months. “The union’s aspiration was Pounds 300 minimum a week. We’re giving them Pounds 300 a week. After a long, protracted dispute firemen settled for 16 per cent over three years – we’re giving 14.5 per cent in half that time. It’s a very good deal.”
But the CWU said the proposals meant workers would only receive a 4.5 per cent rise with no productivity conditions. The union said it expected negotiations to last two to three months.
Copyright © 2003: Financial Times Group
