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Around 110,000 postal workers will be filling out CWU Strike ballot forms this week, for the second time within 6 months following High Court action by Royal Mail to get the last strike ballot declared void. The ruling meant that the union was forced to ballot its members about strike action again.
The CWU opened the national ballot on Monday 2nd March, and the ballot will close on Tuesday 17th March following a silent protest last Thursday. A “Say It With Silence” day of action saw postal workers covering their mouths and holding union posters in silence. The gesture wss intended as a reference to the CWU being legally restricted from taking strike action late last year.
The CWU are in full campaign mode including gate meetings a massive social media presence
We now head into the final full week of the Royal Mail Group ballot. It is absolutely critical we get the vote out.
To our members it’s time to become the union. Engage your colleagues never before.
To the public if you see your postie give them support and ask them to vote yes
— The CWU (@CWUnews) March 8, 2020
“Our members fell silent today [Thursday], but not in the way the bosses might prefer.
In offices across the width and breadth of this country, our members have made it very clear that they won’t be gagged or intimidated by anyone trying to prevent them from exercising their right to take action.
No courts or managers will break their spirit. Our members are the backbone of the Royal Mail and they will stand shoulder to shoulder with each other to protect that proud institution from the corroding influence of private profit.
Our members said it with silence today [Thursday], but they’ll be a little bit less silent in the coming weeks, where I am sure they will deliver a massive yes vote for industrial action.”
– Dave Ward, General Secretary, CWU
So from around the 17th of March we’ll know whether the CWU strike ballot has a mandate to strike. The previous ballot which had a record yes vote of 97.1% with 75.9% ballots returned, which easily broke the threshold, that a majority of those balloted must have returned their ballot paper, set by the Trade union Act 2016. Based on this previous success, we are predicting that the CWU will get another strike mandate which could prove disruptive to ecommerce if the Royal Mail can’t come to an agreement on outstanding issues.
