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‘Public backing us,’ say strike action posties
Staff claim opinion has swung their way
POSTAL workers believe they have won back the support of the public following the first day of a national strike yesterday (Thursday).
Around 2,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) walked out of Mount Pleasant sorting office in Clerkenwell.
Delays to mail and threats of disruption to the Christmas service has provoked a hostile reaction from some small businesses and residents.
But Merlin Reader, CWU deliveries rep at Mount Pleasant, said: “I think things are beginning to turn. We have had all the unions down and the criticism is beginning to turn in our favour.
“People have been bringing us bars of chocolate and all kinds of stuff. I have never seen that kind of response to a strike before. I had three hostile people shouting at me today in 10 hours, but that is nothing compared to the signatures we have had in support of us.”
The CWU is locked in a bitter dispute with Royal Mail bosses over changes to their terms and conditions that have forced Islington posties out on strike 17 times since July.
They have lost around £1,000 each in pay during the industrial action.
Delivery staff say they are being forced to work longer rounds and with heavier post-bags to carry. They claim Royal Mail have reneged on a commitment to install better sorting technology.
Royal Mail bosses say their modernisation of deliveries is essential and have described the strike as “suicide”.
But Mr Reader said: “It is suicidal for the government to back this large profit-making company over us.”
Royal Mail yesterday (Thursday) attacked the action as “totally unjustified and damaging to customers”.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The CWU leadership is well aware that it has already agreed all the changes Royal Mail is making and we urge them to recognise the tough economic conditions faced by all our customers and Royal Mail itself and to live up to their claims to support modernisation and to focus – as the company is doing – on delivering the postal service on which so many customers depend.”
The spokesman added: “While the amount of delayed mail is a fraction of the daily mailbag we are concerned about every single letter and we apologise wholeheartedly to customers for the difficulties caused by the CWU’s strikes.” |
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