UK Royal Mail refuses talks to avert strike
The Royal Mail has turned down the offer of further talks to avert the first national postal strike for seven years, after rebutting a claim by the main postal workers’ union, the CWU, that it had exaggerated financial losses to justify shedding 30,000 jobs and limiting pay increases for 160,000 staff.
Dave Ward, the CWU deputy leader, alleged that the company’s annual accounts, showing a pre-tax loss of £611m, included a £470m exceptional charge for the cost of redundancies; but only 2,000 jobs at most had gone, compared with the 16,000 claimed by Royal Mail. The core letters business had made a £66m profit.
Mr Ward, who is organising the strike ballot due to end on September 17, suggested that the real financial gap between the company and the union, which is claiming an upfront 8% pay rise, could be bridged, and urged the Commons trade and industry committee to order an immediate inquiry into the group’s accounts.
“We have already held several informal talks with the management and are ready to meet them any time. We can put forward sensible solutions to this dispute which won’t break the bank,” he said, offering the prospect of negotiations within the next few days.
Mr Ward said the union challenged the need for 30,000 redundancies. “The job of turning around the business is well on track without the need to rip out 30,000 jobs; we’re not prepared to sign up for pre-determined figures for which there’s no justification.”
But Royal Mail insisted that the audited accounts gave a true picture of the losses. The bulk of the core letters business, officials said, had lost £480m last year, while the £66m commented upon by the CWU was almost entirely due to philately sales and special letters delivery.
Postal workers insisted, however, that they were working excessive hours for low pay. Maureen Gleeson, of Chislehurst, Kent, said that at 55 she was still having to do overtime to make ends meet and taking home £260 a week.
Angela Mulcahy, of east London, said the management had “run us into ruin”, and Charlie Balch, of Cardiff, said it was “harder and harder to survive on the wages we earn; we have to work up to 80 hours a week to get a living wage”.
