CWU threatens strike at British post offices

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced a strike ballot among members at the UK’sPost Office affecting almost 4,000 staff at company-owned offices across the country in a dispute

The CWU said ballot papers will be dispatched on 18th February with the ballot closing on 4thMarch.

The postal union claimed that despite increased profits of £72 million last year, Post OfficeLtd (POL) has pleaded poverty and is refusing to consider a pay rise for counter staff whileawarding a pay rise to managers and increasing directors’ remuneration by 21% (worth £3.9 millionin 2009-10).

Dave Ward, the newly re-elected CWU deputy general secretary, said: “POL’s attitude is aboutdriving a race to the bottom on terms and conditions for staff and further downsizing the postoffice network.”

“The company has no vision – and worse still appears to have no desire – to give staff a fairand just pay settlement or to work towards a sustainable post office network. Their approach spellsdisaster for Post Office employees and will further wreck the services that communities rely on. Wehave written to Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene today making it clear that we remainavailable for talks to resolve this dispute,” he added.

Andy Furey, CWU assistant secretary and lead negotiator with POL, commented: “The Post Office isshowing callous indifference to the work and living standards of hard-working counter staff whileat the same time increasing pay for managers and directors. It’s double standards and fat-cateconomics in the extreme. POL has opportunistically seized on creative accounting results to pleadpoverty and avoid a pay rise for staff. But the £72 million profits and pay-outs for managers anddirectors show that the company can afford a pay rise for staff who have now gone two years withouta rise.”

In response to CWU’s notice of intention to ballot, the Post Office, which is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Royal Mail Group, said it was disappointed at the CWU’s plans for an industrialaction ballot in the 373 Crown Post office branches.

Paula Vennells, the Post Office’s Managing Director, urged the union to withdraw its ballotnotification. “The Crown Post Office network is losing £55 million a year. We regret the fact thatthe CWU is unwilling to engage in a constructive dialogue about tackling this unsustainablefinancial position,” she said.

“We know having no pay increase is a very difficult message for our staff. The unfortunatereality, however, is that the Crown Post Office network is loss-making. Right across the country,difficult choices are being made by many public and private sector organisations and we are nodifferent. Any form of industrial action will only harm our customers and do nothing to resolve theurgent need to reverse the losses in the Crown network,” Vennells stressed.

Post Office said that it registered a revenue drop of £28 million for the first half of thecurrent financial year 2010/11 and that it would have recorded an operating loss in last financialyear without the £150 million annual Government subsidy to support loss-making smallerbranches.

“The Government has made clear its funding for the whole network going forward depends on aclear plan to eliminate the losses in the Crown network,” Post Office concluded.