UK’s Royal Mail workers call off 24-hour strike, union says

Feb 6 (Reuters) – Postal workers at Britain’s Royal Mail called off a planned 24-hour strike over pay next week after receiving legal challenges by the company, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said on Monday.

Lawyers have advised that the union could defend its position in court, CWU said in a statement, but it added that the risk of losing in court may potentially impact a new ballot.

“The laws of in this country are heavily weighted against working people,” the union’s lawyers said, adding “the risks of losing in court may potentially impact on the re-ballot – we simply cannot allow this happen.”

The union, which represents more than 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail, will also re-enter negotiations with the Royal Mail Group this week, the statement added.

The CWU had served a notice to Royal Mail Group for a 24-hour strike for all shifts starting after 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 16.

Royal Mail did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

With inflation running at more than 10% – the highest level in four decades – Britain has seen a wave of strikes in recent months across the public and private sectors, including health and transport workers, Amazon warehouse employees and Royal Mail postal staff.

Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.