Tag: Royal Mail

Post Offices hit by Royal Mail strike

Posted by | Jul 2, 2007 | |

A strike by Royal Mail workers led to the closure of 25 larger post offices across the country today.

The company said most of its network of crown offices opened despite the walkout by members of the Communication Workers Union in a row over transferring services from post offices to WH Smith stores.

A Post Office spokesman said: “The overwhelming majority of branches were serving customers today. We’re very sorry for any inconvenience caused by the CWU strike action which meant we were not able to open a small number of offices.”

Half the counter staff turned up for work, and together with management volunteers managed to keep open all but 25 of the 458 crown branches, said a spokesman.

Hundreds of union members were on strike until midday in protest at plans to close 85 crown branches and move services to the High Street retailer.

The union regards the move as privatisation and warned 1,500 jobs will be axed and workers who remain will suffer pay and pension cuts worth thousands of pounds.

The union’s national officer, Andy Furey, said: “Members have been left with no alternative but to take strike action as management is steam-rolling ahead with closures of crown post offices across the UK.”

The union warned there will be further industrial action unless the post office returns to negotiations with an improved offer on pay and job security.

The Royal Mail said its crown network, which includes the largest branches in high streets and shopping centres was losing around GBP 70 million a year on its operations, which was unsustainable long-term.

Meanwhile, postal workers were clearing the backlog of mail caused by last Friday’s 24-hour strike in a separate row over pay and jobs.

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Royal Mail in negotiations with postal union leaders for guaranteed deliveries of Harry Poter

Posted by | Jul 1, 2007 | |

Royal Mail in negotiations with postal union leaders to appeal to them not to disrupt deliveries of J.K. Rowling’s latest novel.

Royal Mail chiefs are using Harry in negotiations with postal union leaders to appeal to them not to disrupt deliveries of J.K. Rowling’s latest novel.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last in the series, is due to be published on July 20 and Royal Mail has promised next-day delivery to thousands of retailers across the country.

But with postal workers threatening a series of walkouts in a dispute over pay, bosses have asked the Communication Workers Union to ensure that millions of children are not disappointed.

In a letter seen by The Mail on Sunday, Royal Mail human resources director Kevin Green has pleaded with CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward to abandon any plans for industrial action in the week of the book launch.

Mr Green’s letter says: “J.K. Rowling’s book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is due to be released on Friday, July 20, for delivery on July 21, and we will be providing a next-day delivery service for many major book retailers.

Royal Mail has not heard back from the union. But when asked if the CWU would give an assurance that it would not strike on a certain day, a union spokesman replied: “No.”

Royal Mail is also concerned about the launch of millions of Harry Potter stamps on July 17.

On last Friday the union’s 180,000 workers were called out, bringing chaos to the postal service.

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Wales’s minister looks to ban junk mail

Posted by | Jul 1, 2007 | |

Wales’ minister is looking to ban junk mail as part of the Assembly’s commitment to green issues.

The move to boot unwanted competitions, loan offers and credit card applications off our doormats forever would rank alongside the smoking ban as another bold piece of legislation introduced here in the wake of devolution.

The Environment Agency estimates junk mail from households and businesses helps to create 4.6 million tonnes of landfill in Wales every year. In 2004 a National Audit Office report predicted Wales will run out of space for dumping rubbish by 2010.

Ms Davidson’s words echo her proposal last month to ban or enforce a levy on plastic bags in Wales. It is a reflection of the rising importance of environmental concerns among voters.

But any such move would face opposition from Royal Mail, which makes millions every year from contracts with private firms to deliver junk mail.

Responding to the Welsh Minister’s idea, a Royal Mail spokesman spelled out how vital junk mail is to its business.

“Our future depends on it competing effectively in all parts of the market and that includes unaddressed mail. The revenue from unaddressed mail helps keep Royal Mail’s stamp prices among the very lowest in Europe and we believe our customers would prefer our uniformed postmen and women to deliver this mail rather than someone else,” he said.

Figures from industry body the Direct Marketing Association claim junk mail accounts for 814,000 jobs in the UK. In 2005 alone, it generated business worth GBP 107bn.

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Post workers’ union claims 95% support for walkout

Posted by | Jun 30, 2007 | |

Union leaders have clashed with the Royal Mail about the scale of support for the first national postal strike in more than a decade, which has crippled deliveries across the country.

The Royal Mail said backing for the walkout was “patchy”, claiming that up to 60 per cent of its staff were working nationally and up to 22 per cent in London. But the Communication Workers Union said 95 per cent of its members joined the stoppage, making it the best ever supported strike.

“The Royal Mail’s figures are as ridiculous as their pay offer,” said Bill Hayes, the union’s general secretary, yesterday. “The Royal Mail has been in denial about its workforce rejecting a 2.5 per cent pay offer and is now in denial about the overwhelming support for the strike,” he added.

Picket lines were mounted outside mail centres and sorting offices across the country from 3am. Workers at Crown post offices were also on strike until midday in a separate row over plans to transfer postal services into WH Smith stores.

The CWU warned of a fresh round of industrial action at the Royal Mail unless the deadlocked dispute over pay and modernisation is resolved, but it hopes to restart peace talks.

Managers delivered special delivery items and collected mail from post offices. A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The strike is simply ignoring the reality facing everyone in Royal Mail – that we are no longer a monopoly.” He added: “The dispute is about the whole future of Royal Mail and the absolutely urgent need to modernise, as our rivals have already done.”

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Statement – Royal Mail – Strike Update

Posted by | Jun 29, 2007 | |

Royal Mail said today that despite a national postal strike called by the CWU just 26 Post Office branches were closed with the rest of the 14,200-strong network open and serving customers.

In Royal Mail’s letters operation support for the strike was patchy with between 1% and 22% of our people at work in some units in London while nationally the range was up to 60% of people working.

• The pay offer on the table comprises: a 2.5% increase in basic pensionable pay, PLUS an £800 cash dividend if performance targets are hit this year PLUS a 50-50 share in any savings at local operating unit over and above budget.
• Although basic pay for postmen and women is £323 a week, the average fulltime postman and woman earns £440 – above the national average – when pay supplements and overtime are taken into account.
• The union’s pay demand lodged on March 6 was for a 27% rise in basic pay and a cut in the working week, which in total would cost the company £1 billion – money which we simply don’t have.
• One of the Post Office branches closed today was the office in Rotherham, where flood damage – not strike action – had prevented the branch from opening. Strike action ended at 12noon today in Crown Post Office branches.

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