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DATES have been announced for postal strikes which will cripple mail delivery services in Inverclyde for four days.
Services will be hit after mass walkouts were confirmed in a dispute over pay rise talks.
Around 100 Royal Mail workers locally will take part in the stoppage, one of the biggest in the sector’s history.
More than 115,000 workers across the country will withdraw their labour.
Talks on pay between unions and management had been taking place behind the scenes for months but they have stalled.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), who represent workers of the UK’s main postal service, sent out ballot papers asking their members if they were willing to go on strike.
They voted by 97.6 per cent to walk out, on a 77 per cent turnout.
It’s understood that after talks ended between the CWU and Royal Mail, the company announced it would give members a non-conditional two per cent pay increase backdated to April.
The union was told an additional 3.5 per cent rise is available, subject to further talks and agreements.
But CWU chiefs say management of Royal Mail decided to ‘impose’ a two per cent pay rise on employees.
They have described it as an ‘insult’ and say it would lead to a dramatic reduction in workers’ living standards.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “Nobody takes the decision to strike lightly, but postal workers are being pushed to the brink.
“When Royal Mail bosses are raking in £758 million in profit and shareholders pocketing in excess of £400 million, our members won’t accept pleas of poverty from the company.”
Strike action will take place on August 26, August 31, September 8 and September 9 and picket lines are expected to be in place at the Knowe Road sorting office in Greenock.
The walkout will have a major effect on mail and parcel delivery services across the district.
Craig Anderson, Scottish regional secretary of the CWU, said: “This industrial action comes after months of giving Royal Mail the chance to negotiate a fair deal.
“The ball remains in their court, although I believe it is unlikely we will see change before industrial action begins.”
Ricky McAulay, operations director at Royal Mail, said: “The CWU rejected our offer worth up to 5.5 per cent for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years.
“In a business that is currently losing £1m a day, we can only fund this offer by agreeing the changes that will pay for it.”
