115,000 Royal Mail workers have voted to go on strike in what could be the largest industrial action this summer.
It’s being called the summer of discontent by many, along with London bus walkouts scheduled later in August and the railways set to grind to a standstill once again in the next train strike.
The cost of living crisis is partly to blame, and Royal Mail is no stranger to this after April saw stamps go up in price thanks to inflation. But now the postal service is encountering a fresh challenge as thousands of its employees have voted for strike action this summer.
Royal Mail workers voted overwhelmingly for strike action on July 19, but no date has yet been fixed when the walkouts will take place. The vote took place among more than 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
CWU general secretary Dave Ward, who’s also backed the Enough is Enough campaign to tackle the cost of living situation, said there’s now a small window for talks to sidestep strikes before the walkout dates are set, while Royal Mail said it was dissatisfied by the vote, adding that in the event of industrial action, they have contingency strategies to minimise customer disruption and will work to keep people, businesses and the country connected.
The vote comes just after Unite union made a decision to suspend three days of walkouts scheduled at Royal Mail on 20, 21 and 22 July. The trade union’s members voted by almost two to one to return to negotiations rather than move forward with the scheduled strike, following new proposals by Royal Mail on jobs, pay and conditions.
Unite official Mike Eatwell said that Unite’s members had accepted the senior management’s return to the negotiating table to improve upon the jobs already put back into the crucial delivery and collections services and that Royal Mail’s changed approach was evident but there was further to go.
With more than 115,000 postal workers voting to strike, CWU were on course for what could be the biggest industrial action to hit Britain this summer. The Union said that the vote could leave no doubt that postal workers were united and that they were demanding the proper pay rise they deserve, while Royal Mail bosses are giving themselves massive bonuses.
The price of a First Class stamp will rise by 10 pence to 95 pence, and the price of a Second Class stamp will increase by 2 pence to 68 pence, and postage for a large First Class letter stamp will increase by 16 pence to £1.45.
Royal Mail has been run into the ground since it was privatised, and privatisation is a big con, and when it all fails, guess who comes to bail them out? Yes, it’s us the taxpayer!
Most posties enjoy their job, being alfresco and meeting great people, but due to years of transformation, they now have to trek 4-5 hours if not more. They don’t walk with just one bag of mail but have to go back to their van and go through 10 plus bags weighing 10kg plus.
The hot weather is intense at the moment, and it’s appreciated when someone offers them a cold drink, this can mean so much to a postie in this extreme heat.
They will be striking soon, but of course, none of them actually wants to strike. They lose pay and will end up still delivering the same amount of mail but late.
They’re striking due to management taking bigger bonuses and awarding themselves free shares. Paying big bonuses to shareholders, yet awarding posties 2 per cent, providing they accept changes that include trekking for 6 hours plus, starting after 8 working Sundays on pro-rata as part of their shift patterns.
Posties are not greedy, overpaid, lazy people like some press like to make them out to be.
In this heat, no manager has offered them water or even asked if there are areas they can get water from. No offer of starting their shift early, no checking to see if they have hats or sun cream. On the contrary, they’ve been asked to take out mail from other duties to make up for staff shortages due to holidays et cetera.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 