Financial News
- 11 March 2013, 11:21
Post Office Workers Support Strike Action
Post Office workers have voted in support of strike action in a ballot by the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
Almost 90% voted in favour of industrial action over a dispute about pay and job security, the union said.
Three-quarters of the union's members that work in Crown branches - high street stores run by the Post Office - took part in the ballot.
The CWU said the dispute was over a pay rise due last year, that 4,000 Post Office staff had not yet received.
Fears over job security for 770 people working across the 70 offices due to be franchised was also an issue, it added.
The union's deputy general secretary, Dave Ward, said its members had spoken "loud and clear".
"They are fed up with being treated like second-class workers by the Post Office and they want their concerns to be listened to," he said.
"There hasn't been so much as the pretence of negotiations from Post Office Ltd and that must change if strike action is to be avoided.
"We are now asking the company to come to the table to discuss pay and job security for these workers and avoid the need for strike action."
But the Post Office said the CWU's vote rejected an offer of cash payments totalling up to £3,400 to be paid before April 2015.
The company's Network and Sales Director Kevin Gilliland said it was disappointed by the CWU's reaction.
"Our offer of cash payments recognises the contribution being made by our people to the turnaround of the business," he said.
"There is absolutely no room for manoeuvre. These payments are fair at a time when our Crown network is operating at a loss.
"Our door remains wide open to discussions with the CWU as to how we get the first of these payments into pay packets as quickly as possible."
Crown post offices account for 3% of the 11,800 branches across the UK.
what do you think?
shaun spencer
With new technologys emailing etc and the death of the town center it can only be downhill for the post office.
Peggy Sutton
sack them all !
Charles Rickards
If the post office can not be run at a profit, then the alternatives will be closure or government support. The answer may lie with giving all employees in businesses a very visible vested interest in the success of the business they are employed by. Whilst it is easy to shout about rights, people need to consider what they would do if they had to personally fund the choices made. This may be fine for those with deep pockets and a charitable nature, but the reality is that eventually the money will run out and that will be the end.
David Francis
3:42pm on 8/3/2013
It seems that the management are trying to reduce the value of the business as much as possible before the sell-off. These are the people who raise the price of postage every time they see the number of items posted reduce in order to 'preserve their income'. There does not seem to be one ounce of economic sence anywhere in the organisation.
David Wragg
12:43pm on 9/3/2013
Well said. It is also the only organisation that charges more for bulk business, as I discovered when responsible for a company's annual reports. No doubt random circulars are done on the cheap.