Northern Ireland postal workers 'face strike mandate'

The result of a UK-wide strike ballot by Royal Mail workers to be announced tomorrow could force Northern Ireland postmen into a strike against their wishes.

Michael Kennedy, Northern Ireland area general manager for Royal Mail, believes the majority of his workforce will vote against a strike, but could be dragged into one by their disgruntled UK colleagues.

“The bottom line is that this is a very good pay package,” he said “and most employees believe it is the best package they have had in their careers.

“The UK outcome will be very close, but the majority of Northern Ireland staff are happy with the deal and don’t want industrial action.”

Mr Kennedy, who lives in Belfast, said the proposed pay deal had already been restructured to take in local concerns.

“The Royal Mail position is that the 14.5% offer is the offer. Basically, it’s all we can afford.

“Locally, we reckon it’s going to be closer than the Communications Workers’ Union imagines.”

He said Ulster’s 3,500 postal workers would get £300 a week basic pay if the productivity targets were met, plus penalty payments.

“It has been clearly communicated that our workers will receive 3% next month, and another 1.5% in April next year, unconditionally.

“The balance of 10% is conditional on local, not national, productivity changes.”

He said initial plans to base the productivity gains on a national level had been dropped after workers complained that local efforts could be undermined by national results.

The productivity changes related to the sorting and delivery of mail, principally the dropping of the Second Delivery service, he said.

Locally, job losses would be relatively low, with about 50 voluntary redundancies, and no compulsory lay-offs.

If the new targets were met for four weeks, the gains would be locked into the pay structure as part of workers’ basic pensionable pay.