Postal workers ballot over strike
Postal workers are threatening their first national strike for seven years over a pay dispute.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is balloting its 200,000 members today and may stage a series of walk-outs over the next few weeks.
Royal Mail says that it is offering a 14.5% rise but the unions believe it has too many strings attached to it and only actually amounts to a 4.5% increase.
The dispute may end up in the High Court as the chairman of the Royal Mail, Allan Leighton, is threatening legal action against the union for libelling him in its literature.
Mr Leighton is upset about a poster that reads: ‘Allan Leighton . . . does not believe we are entitled to a decent increase in London weighting. That’s a bit rich coming from him, who has wasted no time in awarding himself a fat pay cheque and £3 million bonus next year.’
His solicitors say that the level of the bonus is incorrect and that he does support an increase in the London weighting.
The Royal Mail is already under threat with huge costs and high loses. Last year it lost £611 million, but this was half the level of the previous year’s losses.
