NW Postal Workers Urge Royal Mail To Negotiate Change

In response to the overwhelming yes vote by postal workers for industrial action, union leaders in the North West have called on Royal Mail to cease its damaging practise of imposing unworkable working practises on a demoralised workforce and work with them to make Royal Mail a thriving modern postal business that not only delivers for its customers but values the people on the ground who deliver the service.

It’s incumbent on the Royal Mail Board to now avert a strike and enter into serious negotiations with the CWU and to cease the aggressive stance they have taken of introducing unagreed and unworkable working practises.

The Communication Workers Union in the North West also supports the call for an independent inquiry into increasing complaints from postal workers who claim to have been bullied in the workplace by managers.

Carl Webb, CWU North West Regional Secretary, said: “Royal Mail is always telling us that they listen to their employees; well let’s hope that they mean what they say and immediately begin meaningful negotiations and begin treating all their staff with dignity and respect. Awarding a pay freeze to postmen and women when the company made a significant profit and then paying out massive bonuses to all management and board members was a slap in the face to all postal workers. Forcing additional work on postwomen and men without the time or resources to complete it is not the way for a modern industry to operate.

“Modernisation should result in improved and new services for our customers not office closures, later deliveries, fewer collections. Modernisation should result in a staff being rewarded for their endeavours, not pay freezes, mass redundancies, and the casualisation of the industry. Whilst our members are here for the long haul Royal Mail senior management come and go clutching their large pay offs and handsome pensions whilst leaving our members to pick up the pieces of a once proud public postal service.

“North West Postal workers want a fair days pay for a far days work, they want job security, no compulsory redundancies, and agreements covering full-time and part-time ratios, they want fair workloads with agreed standards of measurement, they want the practise of disciplining postal workers because they are unable complete overloaded delivery rounds ceased, they want their union to have the ability to negotiate change, but most of all they want a modern and successful Royal Mail that values their contribution to its success and they want their pension they have paid into protected.”

Carl said finally “Our members don’t want to take strike action and disrupt the service and they don’t want to lose pay, what they want is to be as valued by the management as they are by the public, and see the end to the running down of the postal service. If Royal Mail management is unable to do this then reluctantly they will be forced to defend their industry and their futures.”

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