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POSTAL workers in Barrow have been voting on whether or not to strike in a dispute over pay.
Around 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union received ballot papers and will decide in the coming weeks if they want to mount a campaign of industrial action.
The union is demanding that Royal Mail Group negotiates with them to secure a ‘straight, no-strings’ pay increase for employees.
A Communication Workers Union spokesperson said: “Britain’s postal workers are being forced into accepting a massive pay cut by the same people they have generated incredible profits for.
“Our members are going to food banks while bosses reward themselves with advance bonuses.
“It is an unjust, unsustainable way to treat people.
“We have no doubt that workers will defy this despicable treatment, stand up for themselves and vote to begin the biggest strike of this summer.”
The union said management intends to impose a two per cent pay rise which will be a ‘dramatic real-terms wage cut’ because of soaring inflation.
Should workers vote Yes, it could mean the biggest industrial action taken by workers this summer.
Simon Fell MP, said: “I was fortunate enough to visit the sorting office in Barrow and go out on a delivery run with some of the brilliant postal office workers last week.
“They are clearly so passionate about their jobs and about serving the community.
“I very much hope that both sides get around the table and resolve this issue as soon as possible.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We believe there are no grounds for industrial action. We offered a deal worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years, which was rejected by the CWU.
“We need to reach an agreement on the changes required to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry, securing jobs for the future and retaining our place as the industry leader on pay and terms and conditions.”
