Royal Mail workers march to Holyrood to demand action from Nicola Sturgeon

HUNDREDS of Royal Mail workers marched to the Scottish Parliament today calling on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to take action in the dispute over pay.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said planned Christmas strikes are to go ahead as talks between the two sides remain deadlocked.

General secretary Dave Ward has written to Ms Sturgeon seeking urgent talks to secure her support in a bid to end the dispute.

Union members in Scotland amplified the call as hundreds descended on Holyrood to demand that Sturgeon backs the workers and to highlight their claims that Royal Mail has been mismanaged by bosses.

The demonstration heard speeches from CWU acting deputy general secretary Andy Furey and Scottish TUC general secretary Roz Foyer.

In his letter to Ms Sturgeon, Mr Ward said: “Royal Mail has announced a number of completely unacceptable job losses, which have been ‘justified’ by their financial mismanagement.

“This is the biggest assault on any group of UK workers in decades, with the senior management of Royal Mail openly calling for postal workers to pay the price for their mistakes.

“Only 18 months ago, our members were praised as key workers that kept the country — and the company — going during the pandemic.

“It is outrageous that Royal Mail now wants to force through mass job losses, including compulsory redundancies, as part of an asset-stripping business plan.”

Mr Ward said that the company is “deliberately running down services available to the customer” to justify turning Royal Mail into just another gig-economy employer.

“We know that many customers and businesses in Scotland, particularly in rural communities, rely heavily on the universal service obligation and it is imperative we work together to protect it,” he wrote.

He requested a meeting with Ms Sturgeon to discuss the future of Royal Mail staff and urged her to call for an inquiry into the postal company’s management.

In response, a Scottish government spokesperson said: “The First Minister will respond to Mr Ward’s letter in due course.”

Royal Mail said it made a “best and final pay offer,” worth up to 9 per cent over 18 months, about three weeks ago.

The CWU said it has offered “simple solutions” to end the dispute, but that Royal Mail had not offered to meet, adding that planned strikes on Friday December 23 and Saturday December 24 are set to go ahead.