UK postal workers to ballot on `insulting' pay offer

More than 30,000 postal workers in London will be asked to vote on strike action over an “insulting” pay offer from Royal Mail, the local union branch said today.

Workers were said to be angered by Royal Mail’s offer last week to increase their London weighting allowance by £100 per year – less than one tenth of the rise they had asked for.

At a meeting on Friday, London delegates from the Communication Workers Union voted unanimously to ballot the 32,000 members in the capital on industrial action.

Norman Candy, CWU London divisional representative, said a strike, which would halt mail deliveries and close post office counters across London, now appeared to be “inevitable”.

“Our members are outraged at this derisory and insulting offer from Royal Mail,” he said.

“A strike now looks inevitable. We asked for parity with workers in the rest of the country and we’ve been offered less than £2 per week.

“The fat cats running the business have just paid themselves massive salary bonus increases.”

The union has called for a rise in the London weighting allowance of more than £1,200 for the inner London area and more than £2,000 for outer London.

Mr Candy continued: “The new management team promised to listen to the workers. They quite clearly have not.”

Mr Candy said ballot papers were expected to be sent out within the next week.

While the union was “always available for talks” he said as the matter currently stood he had “no option” but to recommend that members vote for a strike.