BELFAST postal workers, in the second week of their unofficial strike, said there is ‘huge anger’ over what they described as Royal Mail ‘bullying’.
Rank and file Communication Workers Union members are out solid at Mallusk Mail Centre in County Antrim and Tomb Street delivery office in Belfast city centre from where 200 postal workers first walked out a week ago last Tuesday.
Police were called out by management and cleared strikers sitting down in the road outside the Mallusk Mail Centre yesterday.
A Belfast postal worker who did not wish to be named for fear of victimisation, told News Line: ‘The men were trying to stop scabs and scab mail from going in and out of the building.
‘There was a small incident when police were called.
‘What this shows is the level of anger – it’s massive.
‘Both offices are out and the level of anger is huge at the tactics Royal Mail have been using.
‘Management have been exposed as making untrue statements.
‘They made allegations to the BBC that could have life-threatening implications here.
‘There was mention of a diary with managers’ number plates in it.
‘We’ve refuted that consistently and Royal Mail have had to withdraw their statements.
‘There is to be an investigation into their practices.
‘Royal Mail are abusing established procedures.’
The CWU has repudiated the unofficial action.
It is calling for an outside review of industrial relations.
So far Royal Mail has refused to participate in any independent inquiry.
Meanwhile, fifty managers from Britain have been transferred to the north of Ireland to help clear the backlog of mail in the strikebound offices.
An attempt was made at conciliation last Wednesday at the Labour Relations Agency, with representatives from Royal Mail and the unions whose members are taking unofficial action, following attempts by the CWU to get the strikers to return to work last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, no letters posted to areas outside the north of Ireland are being dispatched and no mail posted in Belfast is being processed.