Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) leaders yesterday condemned Royal Mail’s announcement of major automated sorting centre closures affecting Liverpool, Oldham, Bolton, Stockport and Crewe as ‘irresponsible’.
Responding to the news, Eastern No.6 Branch secretary Paul Odden called for national strike action as ‘across the country, Royal Mail are planning to reduce every three mail centres or distribution hubs into one’.
He told News Line: ‘Our CWU annual conference voted for an emergency motion put by our branch and approved by the Postal Executive (PE).
‘It said that if Royal Mail closed or announced the closure of Mail Centres or distribution hubs, the response would be a national industrial action ballot.
‘There is a meeting of reps from all over the country at CWU head office next Tuesday.
‘The PE has to stand by its word.
‘There has to be action and it has to be across the country.
‘Royal Mail plans to move Milton Keynes and Coventry mail centres into a new one they are building in Northampton.
‘We stand to lose 800 jobs at Milton Keynes, and there is a review of deliveries.
‘At Luton, they stand to lose 600 hours, that will mean jobs going.’
Commenting on the planned North West closures, Liverpool CWU branch secretary Mark Walsh told News Line: ‘We believe 600 jobs at Liverpool are at stake because people can’t afford to travel to Warrington.
‘For eleven years Royal Mail have been trying to close Liverpool and Crewe and move into Warrington, now they are trying it again.
‘They’ve gone outside the national agreement.
‘We’ll be meeting to discuss industrial action across the North West.
‘Royal Mail have not listened to councillors, they haven’t listened to MPs and they haven’t listened to the union.
‘If they won’t listen to anything else, maybe they’ll listen to strike action.’
CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward complained: ‘Royal Mail has reneged on an agreed process by prematurely announcing this decision.
‘The consultation period has not come to an end making their announcement irresponsible and misleading.
‘We believe Royal Mail’s plans are flawed, and have suggested a number of alternatives, such as relocating the current mail centre in Liverpool to another site in the Merseyside area.
‘Royal Mail as a public service and major employer has an obligation to take into account their social and economic responsibility to the communities they serve.
‘With unemployment in Liverpool being one of the highest in the UK, Royal Mail is failing to meet those responsibilities.
‘Making this announcement without completing the consultation and choosing to ignore the agreed process explains why industrial relations are so poor within the industry.
‘The CWU acknowledges that changes are needed to modernise the postal industry, but a balance needs to be struck which meets the business plan, service standards and social and economic concerns.
‘Royal Mail needs to bring the workforce along with these changes in order for the business to be successful so we call on them to remove their preferred option, return to the negotiating table and have a genuine and meaningful consultation over the future of mail centres.’
Oxford CWU branch secretary Paul Garraway said: ‘We’re building our campaign to save Oxford Mail Centre.
‘We’re hoping to meet with other mail centre reps next week.
‘I think we have to build to national action.
‘We’re fighting privatisation and all the stuff they want to sell off. We have to have mail centres to do the job.
‘There will have to be strike action.’
