OVER 1,000 striking postal workers converged on the headquarters of Royal Mail yesterday to demand management enter ‘meaningful talks with the CWU (Communication Workers Union) on resolving pay and major change’ and withdraw the threat of 40,000 sackings and attacks on working conditions.
Leaders of the CWU handed in a giant postcard setting out their demands, as CWU members from across London cheered them on.
They also handed out leaflets to the public which demanded:
• ‘No to post office closures’
• ‘End unfair competition’
• ‘A decent living wage for postal workers’
• ‘Defend postal services’
The union has rejected a pay offer of 2.6 per cent – less than the rate of inflation – and therefore a pay cut in real terms – that is allied to a cost-cutting business plan threatening tens of thousands of jobs and the whole future of the postal service.
CWU General Secretary Billy Hayes said: ‘We’ve handed in a postcard to Allan Leighton and Adam Crozier, saying we will win this dispute and they need to take us seriously.
‘We will escalate the action if they continue to take the attitude they took yesterday. It was not a serious negotiation yesterday.’
He added: ‘But I’m convinced they will have to take us seriously.
‘We have a meeting on Tuesday of our executive to discuss the next steps.
‘We are authorised to take further strike action if we have to.’
Deputy General Secretary Dave Ward added: ‘Today we could have got a lot more people here than we’ve done.
‘It was a controlled demonstration to get the message to Leighton and Crozier that they’ve got to start negotiating, and if they don’t want to do that there’s no point them being in the business, they’ve got to go.’
‘There’s two things that we’ve got to do: one is to escalate the action next week and that will happen, it’s just a question of what form that will take.
‘The other thing is we’ve got to put the government on the spot: they own Royal Mail and it’s completely unacceptable that they don’t instruct the Royal Mail bosses to make serious negotiations.’
Peter Howard, a CWU unit rep. at Chiswick delivery office in west London, told News Line: ‘I want our pay to keep up with the rate of inflation and the terms and conditions of work we enjoy, we want to keep. We do not want to let Royal Mail take them away.’
He added: ‘Slowly but surely this is escalating to the point where we want Leighton and Crozier to resign.’
He continued: ‘I absolutely agree that the union should call for the aid of the other public sector unions.
‘I think it’s going to come to the stage where something akin to a general strike is what’s needed in Britain.
‘But the public sector workers can start the ball rolling by uniting now.’
Eray Hassan, a CWU delivery office rep. from Southgate, said: ‘Hundreds have turned out here at Royal Mail HQ.
‘The threat of 40,000 job losses – that is our main concern.
‘We want the union to push things now, starting with three-day actions – Friday, Saturday and Monday – and indefinite action if necessary.’
• See photo gallery