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With two days of industrial action planned this Thursday and Friday, the Royal Mail continues to hold talks with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) over pay.
Talks between union leaders and the Royal Mail took place last night, according to south east Wales branch manager for the CWU, Jason Richards.
Mr Richards told Caerphilly Observer how the need for strike action has never been greater: “We entered talks with Royal Mail back in February when the cost of living situation was already bad.
“We’re now at a point however where families will not be able to live, having to choose between eating and heating. It sounds cliché but it’s now reality.”
A postal worker currently earns on average around £380 a week, or just under £20,000 a year.
Mr Richards called for government intervention and described the 2% proposed wage increase as “ridiculous”.
Around 1,600 workers across south east Wales will be on the picket line later this week, with a recent ballot seeing more than 97% of members vote in favour of industrial action.
Asked what the mood was like amongst the public, Mr Richards spoke of how attitudes have changed from years past.
He said: “When we last went on strike 12 years ago, we had a lot more push back. Now, we see lots of unions taking up industrial action and the public are on side because they know its affecting everyone.
“The support has been fantastic. We plan on announcing the next set of strike dates this Thursday if no progress is made.”
The push for industrial action comes after soaring inflation recently hit 10% while wages lag behind.
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Royal Mail reported £8.6 billion in revenues last year, 12% up on the previous year. It also gave shareholders £400 million last November.
The CWU hasn’t said how much they are looking for as it’s ultimately “down to the members to agree”, said Mr Richards, who went on to say: “Those at the top are creaming the profits and none of it is getting passed on. It’s not fair.”
In a recent statement, Royal Mail said: “We’re really sorry for the disruption that this strike action is likely to cause. We want to reassure you we will do everything we can to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as quickly as possible.
“Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but they cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce. We will be doing what we can to keep services running, but customers should expect significant disruption.”
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