CWU MEMBERS working in Royal Mail have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action against Royal Mail’s attempts to cut pay, jobs and conditions.
The result was announced to a standing ovation at the CWU annual conference in Bournemouth yesterday.
Postal workers are now pitched into an historic struggle for their very futures and the future of the Post Office as a public service.
Amongst the plans that Royal Mail intends to impose on postal workers are up to 40,000 redundancies, the introduction of more part-time duties, the closure of up to 73 Crown Post Offices and their transfer into part of WH Smith’s, with worse pay, terms and conditions, and a below-inflation pay increase of 2.5 per cent.
Workers in Royal Mail in three separate ballots voted overwhelmingly in favour of defending their jobs.
In Royal Mail Letters, 77.5 per cent voted in favour of strike action, with 22.5 per cent against.
In cash in transit, workers voted 66 per cent in favour of strike action, with 34 per cent against.
In the Post Office, staff voted 73 per cent in favour of a strike, with 27 per cent against.
Pat O’Hara, chairman of the CWU, said: ‘In response to our ballot, we think it’s time for (Royal Mail bosses) Leighton and Crozier to resign.
‘We’ve heard that Crozier has said that if we vote in favour of strike action, it will be a bloody dispute like the miners’ strike.
‘While we would expect to hear that from a Tory government, we won’t accept that off civil servants placed in a position by a Labour government.
‘It’s time that they resigned.
‘We are determined to defend our members’ jobs, pay and conditions and we are confident that we will win this dispute.’
Dave Ward, deputy-general secretary (post) of the CWU, said: ‘Postal workers up and down the country have had their say.
‘They have rejected Royal Mail’s attacks and their race to the bottom.
‘We hope now that Royal Mail will return to the negotiating table.
‘But if they won’t, we believe that our members by standing firm will defeat them.’
Paul Garraway, a CWU conference delegate from Oxford, political officer of South Central No.1 branch, said: ‘It’s a fantastic result.
‘Our members have spoken overwhelmingly for strike action and Royal Mail are not reasonable.
‘It is important we use this ballot quickly.’
John Frew, Hemel Hempstead, a delivery rep for the CWU, said: ‘We lost 30,000 jobs three years ago and now they want 40,000 redundancies.
‘We must defend our jobs. We must defend Royal Mail.’
Leon Price, a CWU rep at Oxford Mail Centre, said: ‘We’re delighted with the result of the ballot.
‘We see it as a defence of the public service as a whole and as a defence of jobs and conditions.
‘We want a pay rise which at least keeps up with inflation and we wait to see if the 77.5 per cent in favour of a strike will bring Royal Mail back to the negotiating table.’
Steve Gill, another CWU rep from Oxford, said: ‘It’s a great result.
‘We hope we don’t have to go on strike.
‘We hope Royal Mail and our union come to a decent agreement.
‘But if we need to, we will stand together in a united front to defend our union and our terms and conditions.’
