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Post Office workers at high street branches today walked out for 24 hours in a row over pay. The strike is taking place today (Monday July 11) and involves about 1,500 people who staff the Crown Post Offices – the larger branches usually sited on high streets.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) have said that a 3 per cent offer is inadequate due to the rate of inflation and general cost of living crisis. The union said it opposed Post Office management’s offer of a 3% pay rise for the 2022-23 financial year, alongside a one-off lump sum payment of £500, and no pay increase for the 2021-22 financial year, which it complained was well below the rate of inflation.
Supply chain and administrative workers will strike on Thursday, which the union said will affect sub-post offices.
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CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey said: “The blame for this disruption lies entirely with the senior Post Office leadership, who have repeatedly failed – and wilfully refused – to set out a sensible and fair pay agreement.
“Everyone knows that the only solution is a fair pay rise that properly rewards members for their extraordinary efforts in serving the public and delivering a profitable Post Office, while also taking account of the extreme cost of living.
“There most certainly is money available, but management do not want to give workers their fair share. Our message to the employer today is: don’t waste our members’ time by misleading statements.
“Stop the spin and get serious about pay. Until you do this, the strikes will continue.” The Post Office made £35m in profits in its 2020-21 financial year, down from £86m in pre-pandemic 2019-20.
“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.”
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