Tag: UK

Postal workers in London are to stage a 24-hour strike next week in a row over pay, threatening disruption to mail deliveries in many parts of the country.

The walkout next Wednesday by 20,000 members of the Communication Workers Union is set to be the first of many with further stoppages likely to coincide with separate strikes by council workers.

The union warned there would be “severe disruption” to collections and deliveries in London and other parts of the country on October 1 and the backlog of mail could take at least a week to clear.

Leaders of postal workers in London have decided in principle to launch industrial action in a dispute over allowances, it was revealed.

The executive of the Communication Workers Union will hold further meetings before formally announcing the decision later this week.

Strikes would cripple mail deliveries in the capital and have a serious knock-on effect in other parts of the country.

Royal Mail has been accused of freezing out hundreds of sales staff to finance big pay rises and free trips to Iceland for employees retained or promoted under a shakeup.

Union leaders condemned the organisation as insensitive over plans to cut about 350 of the 850-strong sales team while increases of up to 60% go to remaining workers who must apply for new posts.

Leaders of the postal workers union will meet to decide their next move in the wake of the surprise rejection of industrial action over pay by thousands of Royal Mail employees.

Members of the Communication Workers Union narrowly voted against strikes in a national row over wages.

But workers in London, involved in a separate dispute over pay, backed walkouts by 11,417 to 4,316.