Postal workers in Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard go on strike

A postal worker strike had ‘100 per cent' support – according to a union representative.

That is the claim from Communication Workers Union rep Neal Kidwell as postal workers in Luton, Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard went on strike today (September 30) with pickets outside all three depots.

The CWU has 250 members in Luton and Leagrave, 90 in Leighton Buzzard and 110 in Dunstable.

Mr Kidwell said: “Support has been rock solid and the union has 115,000 members countrywide. The Government changed the rules in July allowing the deployment of agency workers but they’re providing a minimum service only. They’ve also hired between eight and 10 white vans at £80 a day.”

This is the fourth of 19 proposed strikes. The next is tomorrow (October 1).

Mr Kidwell said one of the main objectives of the strike was the re-instatement of Royal Mail’s annual pay bargaining.

He said: “We haven’t had a real term pay increase for two years. We asked management what they could afford. They offered two per cent which was rejected straight away. "They then offered a further three-and-a-half per cent, subject to certain changes in working conditions which were totally unacceptable.

"We are committed to discussing changes but we won’t have them imposed on us.

"They want to separate the letter service from the parcel service which is the more profitable arm of the business. If they sell off the letter service, that would be a real threat to losing a lot of people.

"They also want Sunday work to be mandatory.”

Under current conditions, postmen work a 37-hour week and can volunteer for weekend work which carries an enhanced payment.

But according to Mr Kidwell, Royal Mail’s proposed new business model will mean a 40-hour week with inferior pay and no Sunday premium.

He added: “Even though the Royal Mail claims they can’t finance our demands, we don’t believe them.

"Just before Christmas, they paid £400-million in dividends to shareholders. And just before their recent claim they were losing £1-million a day, they paid shareholders another £130-million."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The CWU can be in no doubt of the impact its reckless pursuit of 19 days of industrial action has on our weakened financial position and the job security of its members.

"Royal Mail is losing £1-million a day. We operate in a competitive market, and our customers have choices. Continued strike action will force our customers to make those choices sooner rather than later.

“Our invitation to enter into talks through Acas remains open. Our people need the CWU leadership to recognise the reality of the situation Royal Mail faces as a business, and to engage urgently on the changes required to adapt to customer demands in a highly competitive market.

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause. We are doing all we can to minimise and delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.”

The spokesperson continued: “We will not be providing localised data but for the latest information on postal services during industrial action at Royal Mail strike updates | Royal Mail Group Ltd.”