Saffron Walden postal workers go on Royal Mail strike

Published:
4:05 PM September 6, 2022

Updated:
4:19 PM September 6, 2022

Royal Mail postal workers in Saffron Walden are in an ongoing strike over their pay and working conditions.

Postal workers took strike action on August 26 and August 31, and will be striking again on September 8 and September 9.

Saffron Walden picket supervisor Laura Snell said: “There’s two ballots ongoing at the moment – one about pay and a second ballot on terms and conditions.

“It’s going really well and we have got so much support from the public. People came to the picket line and even out on deliveries there’s been lots of support for us.

“The Royal Mail has imposed a two per cent pay rise. It’s actually a pay decrease with the rate of inflation.

“They want to remove our sick pay and they want mandatory Sunday working. They want to change the job from what it is now – it’s a very family-friendly company. Most postal workers work hours that mean they can pick their kids up from school.”

Striking postal workers object to the amount of money which is going to shareholders and senior board members.

“They are finding money for the things they want to find money for, not the things they should find money for,” Laura said.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our total pay package is worth up to 5.5 per cent for Communication Workers Union (CWU) grade colleagues: This would add around £230 million to Royal Mail annual people costs at a time when the business is already loss making.

“The first two per cent, which we have paid, is unconditional backdated to April 2022 – for all CWU grade employees.”

They also clarified that sick absence is three times higher than the national average, which puts pressure on other colleagues, and that they wish to review absence and sick pay policies and reduce absence levels to industry norms.

Sundays are currently staffed by volunteers and agency workers. The spokesperson added: “We want to make Sunday a normal working day that would be part of agreed core hours.

“It won’t mean everyone working every Sunday – perhaps one in four – but it will mean we have a more consistent way of making sure we can deliver the growing number of deliveries on a Sunday.

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s strike action will cause.

“We remain ready to talk with the CWU to try and avert damaging industrial action and prevent significant inconvenience for customers. But any talks must be about both change and pay.”

They also wish to extend their overnight window, and introduce flexible hours with shorter days in summer and longer days in the run up to Christmas.