Author: Archive

The Royal Mail was on a collision course with the main postal workers’ union today when a fresh row blew up over the future of the industry. The Communication Workers’ Union announced that a huge majority of its members were opposed to the idea of shares being given to workers. The union said a consultative ballot showed that 90,103 of its members supported the CWU’s vision of a publicly owned Royal Mail – a majority of 98.5%. A separate ballot run by an independent company showed that of 1,000 union members polled 949 backed the union. Within minutes of the announcement, the Royal Mail revealed it had asked an independent auditor to examine the union’s ballot as well as one that the company has been holding in recent weeks. Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton said that 80,000 workers supported his idea for issuing shares.

The threat of a national postal strike was set to come a step nearer today when workers decide whether to set a deadline for resolving bitter disputes over pay and the future of the Royal Mail. The Communication Workers Union has clashed with the postal organisation after a 2.9% pay rise was imposed and chairman Allan Leighton made clear his intention to press ahead with issuing shares to workers. The union believes shares would open the door to privatising the Royal Mail, despite denials from Mr Leighton. Delegates at the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth will today discuss an emergency motion which sets a four week deadline for making progress, otherwise a national strike ballot will go ahead. The motion calls for pay talks to be reopened and attacks the Royal Mail for trying to “marginalise” the union. General secretary Billy Hayes accused Mr Leighton of being an “out of control civil servant.”