The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) has announced another three days’ worth of strikes, to begin next Thursday, 29th October. The announcement comes as the union begins national strike action for today and tomorrow, action condemned as “reckless and unjustified” by Royal Mail. Mark Higson, Royal Mail Managing Director, said:
It’s now clear that the union leaders who were in the negotiations could not get the support of their own executive. It would seem that their negotiating team led by Dave Ward has not been able to get their National Executive to approve the words that we agreed with the union on Tuesday. My door is open and my phone is on and I am urging them again today to meet me so that we can all sign that agreement, get the strikes stopped and give us some peace in which we can get on with delivering Christmas for our customers.
The CWU countered both that the letter sent to them by Mr Higson was “substantively different to the form of words achieved through negotiations so far”, and that “the form of words do not constitute a final agreement.” Union leader Dave Ward called on Lord Mandelson to meet both sides at conciliation service ACAS, though the business secretary commented that “I’m not sure that my intervening would be welcome by both sides.”
A survey by Sky News found that 62% of those who responded did not support the postal workers in their dispute with management, with only 30% supporting the decision to strike.
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