UK Royal Mail Postal workers to vote on industrial action

Postal workers are to be balloted on industrial action in a dispute over pay, threatening the first national strike for seven years, it was announced today.

Around 160,000 members of the Communication Workers’ Union will vote over the next few weeks on whether to stage a series of walk-outs in a row over this year’s wage offer which the union claimed had more “strings” than the Philharmonic Orchestra.

The CWU said the Royal Mail was being disingenuous by claiming that the latest offer was worth 14.5% over 18 months.

Officials said the only definite money on offer was 3% from October and a further 1.5% next April.

The union said it was being asked to agree to 30,000 job cuts, which it said would “destroy” postal service.

Deputy General Secretary Dave Ward said: “The Royal Mail is being dishonest by claiming they are offering 14.5%. If that was the case, the union would be biting their hand off.”

A spokesman for the Royal Mail insisted the offer was worth 14.5% on pensionable pay and was linked to “simple” productivity changes.

The spokesman said the latest offer was simpler and contained fewer strings than one recommended for acceptance earlier in the year by the CWU leadership.

The spokesman pointed out that the Royal Mail was still losing around £750,000 a day and said it could only afford the offer if it improved productivity and avoided disruption.

Industrial relations have been improving dramatically over the past 18 months, with fewer stoppages than in the service’s recent history.

The last national strike was in 1996, when deliveries were hit by a series of walkouts lasting several weeks.

Meanwhile, the Royal Mail is threatening to sue the union over a leaflet produced by its London branch claiming that chairman Allan Leighton had awarded himself a “big, fat pay check and £3m bonus”.

Royal Mail solicitors have written to the union warning that they believed the poster, distributed to union members as part of a claim for an increase in the London Weighting Allowance.

The solicitors said in a letter to the union they believed the claims were defamatory.

“It bears the plain and ordinary meaning that the chairman has double standards; he is motivated by personal greed when it comes to his own pay, whilst adopting an entirely different approach when it comes to the pay of other, lesser-paid employees.

“The statement is untrue in these respects. He does believe that employees are entitled to a decent increase in London Weighting, he has not awarded himself a fat pay check and he has not awarded himself a bonus of #3m next year.”

The letter warned that, if any official of the union repeated the remarks, “appropriate legal action may be taken.”

Mr Leighton earns around £180,000 in pay and bonuses.