Postal strike: Union launches another week of strikes as Royal Mail remains firm

Following the week that saw 20,000 postal workers participate in one of the biggest postal strikes to hit the UK in the recent past, the Communications Workers Union (CWU) has declared another week of strikes starting from August 28 and running till September 3.

The Royal Mail managers and the union have been locked in a bitter dispute over plans for the modernisation of Royal Mail. The managers at Royal Mail are pushing for drastic transformation to keep pace with the fast changing nature of the postal market. Royal Mail believes that the arrival of electronic mail and internet banking has changed the landscape and in order to remain competitive it needs to adapt.

In a statement released via the website, Royal Mail said: "We need to modernise how our business operates for customers and are making strong progress in doing so. We cannot slow down and our customers want us to increase our pace of change. We face real challenges; the decline in traditional mail use, the impact of the economic recession and ever stronger competition. This is alongside the unavoidable need to modernise the ways we work and the technology we use.

"We are making changes in a calm, measured and structured way, inviting continuous involvement and dialogue with our unions and our people, seeking to minimise service disruption to our customers, whilst we change. Royal Mail continues to talk with the CWU and our people underlining the impact of disruption on customers and on Royal Mail’s business and reputation," added the statement.

The CWU however accuses Royal Mail of violating agreements reached during the 2007 national strike and launched a series of strikes over pay, job cuts and working conditions. CWU claims that it supports modernisation and accuses Royal Mail of blocking the modernisation efforts.

The CWU deputy general secretary, DaveWard said: "Royal Mail needs to accept that there has been a big breakdown in trust between staff and management.

"The way to resolve this and get the modernisation programme back on track is to have serious negotiations with the CWU to reach a fair and workable agreement.

"We welcome the planned meetings with Royal Mail next week, however until there is a material difference for our members we will not be in a position to call off strike action."

Today’s postal strike will hit Dorset mail centre, Bournemouth, Bristol mail centre collection (1,000 drivers taking part), Cambridge, Coventry and Ipswich mail centres and Burslem, Maidenhead, Middlesbrough, Slough and Thetford delivery offices. The EC postcode areas of London will see its mail services affected on Tuesday.

The strike will spread to the capital on Wednesday and Thursday and is expected to affect postal deliveries and collection.

The union has called for a national ballot that begins on September 9 and closes on 23 September. If the union members vote in favour of a national strike, it could lead to 130,000 Royal Mail postal workers taking part in the walkout.