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Union members have said plans are being made for more postal strikes in the holiday period after Royal Mail announced its plans to cut jobs.
The company announced yesterday it would consult on up to 6,000 redundancies after significant financial losses, which it blamed on the “impact of industrial action, delays in delivering agreed productivity improvements and lower parcel volumes”.
Royal Mail’s chief executive, Simon Thompson, said that the planned job cuts are a “minimum”, and more could take place if there is further strike action.
Today, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) boss Andy Furey said that the redundancy announcement is “essentially bullying” workers, and warned that strikes in the run up to Christmas might now take place.
He said on GB News: “Clearly, this is a cynical, calculated and contrived position by Royal Mail. It’s designed to threaten our members, essentially it’s bullying.
“Our members are exceptionally angry about it and it hasn’t had the desired effect that Royal Mail was looking for. I think they were looking to frighten our members not to take strike action again in the future.
“It’s actually incensed them and the feedback we’re getting is that it’s actually galvanized them to be more determined than ever before.”
He added: “Our aim is to reach an agreement first and foremost, but if we can’t do that, then the programme of strikes that we’ve announced throughout October and November will continue. Something like 15 strikes are due to take place. We will consider further action in the lead-up to Christmas as well.
“My message to Royal Mail is to come to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement.
“The public thinks that the Postal Service is magnificent. Our vendors, as key workers, delivered throughout the whole of the pandemic and kept the country connected, and we delivered six days a week to 32 million addresses.
“Royal Mail has a unique offer, and it needs to be leveraging that unique offer and develop new products and services and new growth. The CWU has a vision and agenda to build Royal Mail.”
International Distributions Services (IDS), parent group to Royal Mail, said that the company is expecting an operating loss of £350 million for the year, and that this could increase to £450 million if customers move elsewhere, following the strike action.
Royal Mail also said that this loss included a roughly £70 million hit from three days of strikes.
Chief executive Simon Thompson said: “This is a very sad day. I regret that we are announcing these job losses. We will do all we can to avoid compulsory redundancies and support everyone affected.
“We have announced today losses of £219 million in the first half of the year. Each strike day weakens our financial situation.
“The CWU’s decision to choose damaging strike action over resolution regrettably increases the risk of further headcount reductions.”
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “The announcement is the result of gross mismanagement and a failed business agenda of ending daily deliveries, a wholesale levelling-down of the terms, pay and conditions of postal workers, and turning Royal Mail into a gig economy-style parcel courier.
“I’ve never seen members more resolute. We’ve got to win this one.”
“What the company should be doing is abandoning its asset-stripping strategy and building the future based on utilising the competitive edge it already has in its deliveries to 32 million addresses across the country.
“The CWU is calling for an urgent meeting with the Board and will put forward an alternative business plan at that meeting.
“This announcement is holding postal workers to ransom for taking legal industrial action against a business approach that is not in the interests of workers, customers or the future of Royal Mail. This is no way to build a company.”
For many strikers in the South East, divisional rep Steve Wisley said the duty times are “the biggest issue”, as management have said they want to move every worker by at least 30 minutes. He added: “Members now believe the change agenda is more serious than the pay agenda.
“I was talking to one lad on the line at Dartford and he said even a 30 minute change would mean he’d have to put his child into after-care.
“I’ve never seen members more resolute. We’ve got to win this one.”
According to the CWU, around 110,000 postal workers took part in the sixth Royal Mail strike on Thursday from the union’s 10 divisions across the country, and every division reported bigger pickets and stronger support for the action, as well as a “renewed determination”.
Two more strike dates are planned for October 20 and 25, and the CWU has already earmarked at least 15 potential strike dates for November and December.
Households are being warned to post parcels early amid fears of chaos caused by the postal strikes in the festive period, including across Black Friday on November 25, and Cyber Monday on November 28.
Royal Mail has said that it has “well-developed contingency plans” but is not fully able to replace the “daily efforts” of its workers.
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