Royal Mail have issued a strike ballot response saying that they are disappointed CWU members have voted 94.5% in favour of industrial action but say that taking into account frontline employees who are not union members (around 12,281) in their eyes only 53.9% have backed industrial action.
Royal Mail point out that they offered a 6%, three-year pay proposal to the CWU including the first hour of the shorter working week, of over 16% between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023. They say that they can only afford to do this if they deliver the Plan announced to stakeholders last year. However the CWU already accused them of muddying the waters by offering a pay deal rather than focusing on the four pillars (Pensions, Shorter working week, Legal Protections, Re-designed operational pipeline), of which currently there is only agreement between the CWU and Royal Mail on pensions.
In the short term, Royal Mail welcome the CWU statement that now is not the time to strike and say that they are have worked with the Union on safe working for Posties during the Coronavirus pandemic.
Royal Mail strike ballot response
“We welcome and appreciate CWU’s statement this afternoon that now is not the time to take industrial action. We contacted CWU last week to work together to protect our people, our country and our company. We are talking to them about how we can do that together.
The postal service is a key part of the UK’s infrastructure at this time. We are delivering, as usual, to communities across the country. The delivery of parcels and letters is a key way of keeping the country together and helping many people who may not have the option to leave their homes.
As the coronavirus crisis has developed, we have worked with CWU to formulate and implement the appropriate sick pay and absence policy for our colleagues. We jointly agreed the policy and communicated it to our colleagues last week. Colleagues, including those with less than one year’s service, will receive full pay in relation to any coronavirus illness or self-isolation. We have made adjustments to our parcel handling procedures to protect our colleagues and our customers.
We are ready to discuss CWU’s proposals for future strategic business opportunities. Our negotiating team is ready to continue the dialogue to agree a framework to try to find a resolution to the current dispute. We are meeting soon. We want to reach agreement.”
– Shane O’Riordain, Managing Director of Regulation, Corporate Affairs and Marketing, Royal Mail
6 Responses
It’s a good job postal workers are decent human beings and recognise the severity of what’s going on around the world . This latest thrashing in another ballot also states the situation we find ourselves in within RM and hopefully commonsense will prevail
Why ? Are RM counting non union members or so they say , if they are non members they wouldn’t have received a ballot anyway
Trouble is no strikers ever get back what they lose. half the population would be grateful for any pension. And as for shorter working weeks.
I think they could easily achieve that.
They could stop leaving cards at every address for failed delivery as that would save lots of time although they already leave so few it would need to go to 100% rather than the 60% they currently don’t card.
The final option would be with so many businesses about to go bust and the huge rise in unemployed that is on the horizon they could just strike and force the last few small businesses that rely on them to go under and then all posties could joing the huge spike in unemployed looking for work.
They unfortunately are living in a world where they should realise the world is changing and jobs will be hard to get.
Yesterday a Parcelforce driver came and said his depot had just told him another driver had been called to say his daughter had been sent home with a temperature from university.
He drove straight back to the depot handed his keys over and went into self isolation.
Oh yes forgot to add he has full sick pay what a luxury.
do i remember correctly that part of the ‘privatisation of this mess involved we the taxpyers assuming several billion £ pension find deficit?
not satisfied with that coup they are back for more – and they aren’t even very good at their job.
Royal Mail have just suspended guaranteed RM Special Delivery by 1pm the next working day.
https://www.royalmail.com/coronavirus