Postal workers in a new wave of strike action

MILLIONS of letters and parcels could be delayed after postal workers decided to strike for the second time in a week. On Wednesday, about 870 Royal Mail staff are expected to walk out of a mail centre and logistics depot in Dorcan for 24 hours in two separate strikes.

The separate strikes will see 800-plus workers from the mail centre and 70 drivers from the Wheatstone Road depot refuse to work over separate but similar disputes about pay and conditions.The strikes look set to be followed by another 48 hour walkout by 70 delivery drivers from the logistics depot on Monday, September 7 and Tuesday, September 8.

In the same week another national ballot of Communication Workers Union (CWU) members could see the workers planning strikes for a third time before the end of the month. Last night CWU branch secretary Chris Rye said: “The workers are not taking it lightly. “It is three days’ wages — which shows how bad they are being treated and how they feel their terms and conditions are being eroded.

“You are not going to lose three days’ wages in a week if you don’t feel things are worth fighting for.” Mr Rye has admitted the strike is likely to cause a backlog of mail and delays which will affect customers in Swindon, Oxford and Reading.

Royal Mail said it had contingency plans to minimise disruption but could not guarantee services would not be affected. Mr Rye said: “Oxford, Reading and Swindon will be affected. They won’t have a lot of runs going in and out of their offices. “There will be a backlog of mail and mail will be delayed. It is feasible that millions of items will be delayed.”

Royal Mail has repeatedly called on the CWU to call off the strike and other planned industrial action across the rest of the country. A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The company will continue to take every possible step to mitigate the impact of strikes in the areas where the CWU is taking action.

“It is clear that the union’s real focus is on damaging customer confidence, undermining the universal postal service, and on looking for any route to block the change it claims to support.”