Crown Post Office workers to strike on July 11th

• 29 June 2022
• Transport / Logistics Services

While the Communications Workers Union (CWU) ballots its Royal Mail members over strike action, Crown Post Office Workers have voted to walk out over pay. Around 1,500 of them are to walk out over an offer of a 3% pay rise made by their employer.

The 114 Crown Post Offices, the larger offices mostly located on high streets, are to be affected by the strike on Monday 11th July. This will be the third day of strike action so far this year.

The CWU said this is about ‘dignity and respect’, saying that the 3% pay offer on top of a pay freeze from April 2021 was unacceptable. Inflation has hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in the last month and as such the Post Office workers are getting an effective pay cut.

“No worker wants to be in this situation but Post Office bosses can’t be surprised that callous decisions are challenged by our members,” said Andy Furey, an assistant secretary of the CWU. “This dispute is about dignity and respect for hard-working employees, essential public servants who, as key workers, provided unprecedented customer service during the pandemic.”

In the financial year 2020-21, the Post Office made £35 million in profit. “We want to assure our customers that the vast majority of our 11,500 branches are unaffected by the CWU decision to strike on 11 July and will be open throughout the day,” a Post Office spokesman said. “There are 114 [Crown] branches, typically in city centres, that are directly managed by Post Office, and on previous strike days over a third have opened as usual. We’re disappointed that the CWU have made the decision to strike but remain hopeful that we can reach a pay agreement soon.”