Mail Network Disruption
We have dedicated this page of the Creative Mail Solutions' web site to news items related to any form of disruption in the mail networks either at local or national levels. The detailed information we supply on this page will provide customers of the mail market with up-to-date information on any form of local or national industrial action in any part of the mail network, affecting any operator. This detailed information is designed to provide our customers the necessary knowledge for them to manage their mail effectively in the event of disruption occurring at any point in the mail delivery process.
If you would like any further help with your business continuity or risk management processes regarding your mail, please contact us at mail@creativemailsolutions.co.uk.
If you have knowledge or are aware of disruptions that you would like to share with other customers, or any other comments, please feel free to email us at mail@creativemailsolutions.co.uk.
Industrial Action this weekend - 4th August 2009
FIFTEEN Royal Mail delivery centres are due to close this Saturday as part of a coordinated strike action over pay, cuts and conditions.The Communications Workers' Union (CWU) is organising the event and depots involved include Axbridge, Portishead and Nailsea.
Union meetings regarding further action are set to continue, according to CWU Bristol and District secretary, Dave Wilshire.
Disruption in London Areas - 28th July 2009
The postal workers' union is due to stage further walkouts in a worsening dispute over jobs, pay and services.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) took industrial action on Saturday, and announced plans to escalate strike action across London this week, disrupting deliveries to homes and offices.
The union announced that strikes will now be held in different parts of the capital for the rest of the week, including the huge mail centre at Mount Pleasant, Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, north London on Thursday, parts of south east and south west London on Friday and the West End on Saturday.
The union claims that Royal Mail has refused to enter talks over modernisation - a charge the company denies.
Martin Walsh, the union's London divisional representative, said: "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to the public and businesses but unfortunately we have no other choice but to take further industrial action in light of the bullying behaviour of Royal Mail management and the Government."
The union said more than 12,000 workers were involved in the industrial action, which has been condemned by the Royal Mail.
A spokesman said managers had met the union more than 50 times in recent months but said the CWU refused to believe that mail volumes were declining, despite the "clear evidence" put forward.
Royal Mail said it urgently needed to step up the pace of modernisation in the face of a 10% decline in mail volumes in the UK which it warned could only get worse.
"We condemn the CWU for striking locally over much needed modernisation and change which has already been successfully implemented by our people in the majority of offices around the UK and is working well."
The union has warned that industrial action could spread to other parts of the country.
London Strikes - 12th June 2009
Users of direct mail are bracing themselves for a 24-hour strike in London next week as up to 10,000 Communication Workers Union (CWU) members are due to walk out in protest at job cuts.
The strike on 19 June will disrupt mail deliveries across the city.
The postal workers are claiming that "arbitrary" job cuts will affect about 1,600 workers and that staff may be downgraded into part-time positions.
But Royal Mail dispute the job cut figure and say a fall in mail volumes meant fewer jobs were needed.
A Royal Mail spokesman said the changes being put in place were already agreed with the CWU as part of the 2007 deal.
CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said that Royal Mail is blocking modernisation by refusing to negotiate change with the CWU.
But the Royal Mail spokesman said: "A strike will not modernise Royal Mail - it will simply disrupt the service to which customers are entitled, lead to an even greater loss of business and leave Royal Mail far less able to protect full time jobs.
The spokesperson added that productivity in Royal Mail offices in London already lags behind the rest of the UK with the productivity in parts of London now 10% worse than the UK average."
The London strike would come at a time when the Government's planned sale of a minority stake in Royal Mail to a private company may be delayed to increase the price.
Xmas Disruption - 12th December 2008
Up to 2,000 postal workers at seven sorting offices across England are planning a 24-hour strike on December 19 - the day before the last Christmas posting day for first-class letters.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said its members in Liverpool, Stockport, Oldham,Crewe and Bolton as well as Coventry and Oxford will walk out over the planned closures of mail offices.
The union said the closing mail offices in the area would have a “devastating” impact on local economies and could spark job losses.
Ian Taylor, divisional representative for the CWU in the North West, said: "We believe that Royal Mail’s plans have been drawn up without any real joined-up thinking about how the changes will affect the rest of the network.
"These changes will see a decline in the quality of service we provide to our customers with later deliveries, fewer and earlier collections."
“Royal Mail’s actions pose a real threat to a large number of jobs.”
The union said it had “no alternative” to industrial action, claiming that managers were attempting to move work out of some of the offices listed for closure before Christmas.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "The reported strike proposals would affect less than five per cent of our workforce but we are clearly disappointed that the the union would urge strike action at this important and busy time of year - and we are asking all our people to get on and deliver the Christmas service our customers want and deserve."
Source : Times Online
Possible Disruption in Coventry Area - 8th December 2008
HUNDREDS of postal workers in Coventry have voted in favour of going on strike – possibly before Christmas.The results of the ballot were announced on Friday afternoon - showing a 60 per cent majority decision to take industrial action against Royal Mail.
High level negotiations have been going on for the past two weeks between bosses and union leaders to try to resolve the situation – which was sparked by Royal Mail’s decision to close the city’s Bishop Street sorting office.
Union leaders met with bosses on Thursday to hammer out a resolution – but no progress has been made.
This latest meeting has prompted fears that postal workers will strike during the busiest time of the year, leaving thousands of Coventry residents without mail during the festive season and New Year.
Union leaders have stressed that they are keen to avoid any Christmas chaos, but claim they will take whatever action they think is necessary to protect the terms and conditions of employees.
Source : Coventry Telegraph
Mail Disruption - Cardiff - 11th November 2008
About 150 staff have been evacuated after a fire broke out at the Royal Mail sorting office in Cardiff.Police said the fire was contained in an area at the back of the Penarth Road building, well away from the road.
It is believed the fire started in a loading bay and some vans parked there were damaged. No-one was injured.
Royal Mail warned there will be some disruption to postal services. Customers wanting to collect mail or parcels are asked to stay away.
The fire broke out at about 0845 GMT on Monday.
Paul Kelly, Royal Mail general manager, said: "It started in a tray with equipment which was outside. There were some vans parked in that loading bay which we believe have been damaged."
All 150 staff at the depot were sent home for the rest of the day.
There will be local collections in Cardiff as normal but we will probably bring forward the time of the last collection
Royal Mail general manager Paul Kelly. Mr Kelly added: "There will be no deliveries in the residential areas today. Most of our business mail has already gone out.
"We'll be starting our contingency plan now."
He said they were in touch with their Swansea office and would be contacting colleagues at Bristol and Gloucester for assistance.
Mr Kelly added: "There will be local collections in Cardiff as normal but we will probably bring forward the time of the last collection."
Postman Chris Williams was on his way into work when he spotted a "huge plume of grey smoke" coming from the building.
He said he and many others were in a shelter on the other side of the building from where the fire had broken out.
He said he could not see any flames, but had heard the fire engines arrive.
Another postman, Matt Henwood, said: "At the moment, nobody knows what started the fire.
"It was about 8.30am when we got thrown out of the building," he added.
Royal Mail said customers in the CF10, CF11 and small parts of CF23 and CF24 postal areas will have their mail delivered as soon as post men are able to get into the building again.
Staff will stay on beyond their normal working hours to make sure any backlogs are cleared.
It is not yet known what has been damaged in the fire as staff cannot get in to assess the situation.
However, a spokesman said most of the mail would either already have been sent out to be delivered or is in a separate room.
Source : BBC News
Burslem Strike Extended - 24th December 2007
Postal workers at Burslem delivery office step up their dispute by extending their current 15 day strike by a further fortnight.
The 100 strikers, member of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), are refusing to deliver mail until at least 16th January following a meeting between workers. The extension came ahead of talks between the union and Royal Mail.
Postal workers are striking to defend twelve colleagues who were suspended in September.
CWU Midlands secretary Lee Barron said: "Staff met on Friday morning and decided to give Royal Mail more dates to continue strike action."
Strike action - Stoke on Trent - 19th December 2007
Christmas deliveries in Stoke-on-Trent could be disrupted by postal worker industrial action, customers have been warned.
About 100 delivery workers at the Burslem depot have gone on strike over the continued suspension of nine of their colleagues in a "longstanding dispute".
Twelve workers were suspended in September, although three were later reinstated, after complaints that they had encouraged others "not to cooperate with Royal Mail management", the Communication Workers Union (CWU) says.
The suspension followed the resolution of a national dispute between the union and Royal Mail after a petition was launched among employees regarding management "bullying and harassment"
Picket lines are set to be manned until the new year, with 32,000 homes set to be affected by the disruption.
Liverpool Mail Delays - 6th December 2007
THOUSANDS of items of mail were left languishing in Liverpool’s sorting office for two months following massive backlogs due to wildcat strikes, the Daily Post can reveal.Last night, Royal Mail admitted that mail posted before October’s unofficial stoppages was finally cleared just one week ago - following weeks of delays.
Liverpool’s Chamber of Commerce said the huge backlog was “outrageous” and had damaged business in the city and wider area.
They warned Royal Mail that it must increase its competence to ensure the consequences of the strike action were dealt with before the busy Christmas period began.
Their comments came after staff at the Copperas Hill depot revealed that thousands of letters and packages had been left sitting undelivered in three huge wagon containers in the yard as management refused to allow workers to use overtime to clear the backlog.
Communication Workers’ Union North West secretary Carl Webb said they had been inundated with complaints about undelivered mail from numerous sources and said they had been liaising with Royal Mail management to allow workers to use overtime to clear backlogs.
He said: “The problem has come from Royal Mail policy of not allowing workers to do overtime to catch up on work following strike action.
“Instead, they have tried to bring in agency workers who do not know what they are doing, with the result that mail has gone missing, been delivered to the wrong places and backlogs have not been cleared as quickly as they should have been.
“It is ridiculous that it has taken so long to clear this backlog and we have been working with Royal Mail to get this situation sorted.
“Unfortunately, the days of Royal Mail being over concerned about their customers seemed to have gone.
“This is no longer a public service in the eyes of the management and I am sure the public will have been affected by this delay in receiving mail.
“It is a relief that they have finally got their house in order before the Christmas rush begins.”
Jack Stopforth, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said: “It is very damaging to our businesses and also to the future of Royal Mail that we are still suffering the consequences of the backlog caused by the dispute so long after.”
A Royal Mail spokesman insisted the problem had now been sorted out.
He said: “The backlog has been clear for well over a week now and we are giving the same level of overtime as normal to cope with the larger volumes of mail that we handle at this time of year.”
Source : Liverpool Daily Post
Liverpool just clearing Strike Backlog - 23rd November 2007
IT’S OVER – six weeks after Liverpool’s posties walked out on unofficial strike the city’s huge postal backlog is set to be cleared.
Mountains of mail had to be stored in locations around the city when deliveries were halted after more than 600 members of the Communication Workers’ Union walked out over new working hours.
They returned to work on October 18 – but mail bosses have struggled to clear the backlog due to their policy of not awarding overtime to workers involved in unlawful stoppages.
Hundreds of casual workers and students were called in to help reduce the piles of post, with estimates of delivery delays stretching past three weeks.
But Royal Mail today said the last of the mail mountains would be cleared by the weekend.
A spokeswoman said there was now no backlog of mail at the city’s main postal sorting office on Copperas Hill.
She said: “Operations there have been back to normal for some time.
“All but two of Liverpool’s 21 delivery offices are also clear and we are using extra resources where needed to ensure that the city’s mail services get back on track by the weekend.”
The Royal Mail initially planned to clear mail from the Speke delivery office within 13 days. But the ECHO revealed on November 5 that the estimate had risen to 18 days. Estimates of clearing the backlog for the L6 and L7 areas of seven days had increased to 11, while the 12-day forecast of clearing mail at the West Derby office had risen to 15.
Source : Liverpool ECHO
Mail Damaged in Fire - 14th November 2007
Post has been damaged in a fire at a Royal Mail sorting office. The blaze broke out in the building in Stornoway on Lewis.
Royal Mail said that some mail was spoiled, but that it was too early to say what impact the blaze would have on deliveries.
A spokesman said: "Our next priority will be to salvage as much mail as possible for our customers.
"We have not been able to access the office yet, so it is impossible to assess the impact at this stage, however, we would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience this unfortunate incident may cause to their mail service.
"Royal Mail will now be looking for alternative premises as a matter of urgency in an effort to minimise disruption to customers."
Source :<a href="http://www.midlothianadvertiser.co.uk/latest-scottish-news/Mail-damaged-in-sorting-office.3482556.jp" target=”_blank”>MidLothian Advertiser</a>
6th Day of Wildcat Strikes - 16th October 2007
Almost 800 postal workers in Merseyside are continuing their unofficial industrial despite reports of a national deal being brokered.The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) claimed a total of 21 sorting offices were affected across the area.
But union officials said they were hopeful a deal could be hammered out very quickly after a "mood change".
The Royal Mail said they hoped employees will return to work after further meetings on Tuesday.
Mike Yarwood, area delivery representative for the CWU, said progress was being made.
Our members want to deliver the mail and they want to get back to work
Mark Walsh CWU
"It is the most promising day so far," he said. "The mood of local managers has changed.
"We can't call another meeting until we have the document to show our members. We are waiting for the documents."
After a mass meeting on Monday union members said they had not heard sufficient detail on the national deal to convince them to return to work.
The Merseyside branch secretary for the CWU, Mark Walsh, has apologised to customers but said management is also to blame.
"I think Royal Mail have some responsibility. Our members want to deliver the mail and they want to get back to work to clear that backlog," he said.
"The sooner we can do that the better so we need a compromise to be reached."
Executive meeting
Mr Yarwood said that once the document had been shown to postal workers, a deal could be struck in "three minutes" but they had to wait until after the executive committee meeting took place on Tuesday morning.
Postal workers in Liverpool started their unofficial action last Wednesday over a change in shift patterns.
The CWU national executive is due to meet later to consider the deal that was thrashed out between the Royal Mail officials and senior union officials on Friday night.
The executive will then decide whether to approve it
Source : BBC News
Wildcat Strikes - 11th October 2007
Postal workers took fresh wildcat strike action on Thursday, causing further delays to mail deliveries.
Staff in Liverpool and parts of London took unofficial action in a continuing row over new shift patterns.
An official 48-hour strike ended at 3am on Wednesday but there were spontaneous walkouts at 24 delivery offices after a new row broke out when workers were told their shift times had been changed.
Workers at offices in Liverpool, east London and Nine Elms, central London, went out on unofficial strike again on Thursday.
The Communication Workers Union has called a series of official strikes from next Monday in its long running dispute with the Royal Mail over pay, jobs and pensions.
The Prime Minister on Wednesday told the workers there was "no justification" for the dispute continuing and said they should get back to work.
His comments were criticised by the TUC which said they would not help resolve the dispute.
The Royal Mail said unofficial industrial action was taking place in about 30 delivery offices in parts of London and Liverpool.
A spokesman said workers in the rest of the country's 1,500 delivery offices were working normally.
Source : The Press Association
National Disruption w/c 15/10/07 - 9th October 2007
CWU has today (Monday) served notice to Royal Mail for further strike action to take place next week unless an agreement is reached.This action will follow a programme of 24hour functional strikes commencing Monday 15th October. This means Royal Mail will face a further week of continuous disruption to mail services and all postal staff will carry out one full day’s strike, as outlined below.
* Mail centres and airports - duties, scheduled attendance and overtime commencing at or after 18.00 Monday 15th October 2007 and before 18.00 Tuesday 16th October 2007.
* Deliveries and separate collection hubs - duties, scheduled attendance and overtime commencing at or after 03.00 Tuesday 16th October 2007 and before 03.00 Wednesday 17th October 2007.
* Network (drivers) - duties, scheduled attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Wednesday 17th October 2007 and before 12 noon Thursday 18th October 2007.
* MDECs (mechanised data entry centres) - duties, scheduled attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Thursday 18th October 2007 and before 12 noon Friday 19th October 2007.
* International/Heathrow World Distribution Centre - duties, scheduled attendance and overtime commencing at or after 14.00 Thursday 18th October 2007 and before 14.00 Friday 19th October 2007.
Talks continue between CWU and Royal Mail.
Source : CWU
National Action - 4th October 2007
Postal workers are set to launch a fresh series of UK-wide strikes, which could disrupt deliveries into the middle of next week.The Royal Mail is holding last-minute talks with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), but without a breakthrough a 48-hour walkout will start from noon.
A second two-day strike by the CWU's 130,000 members is scheduled to begin at 0300 BST on Monday, 8 October.
After Monday's strike, the CWU says it will then stage a programme of rolling strikes each Monday until the dispute is resolved.
We would ask our customers to avoid posting mail during the strikes and, if they do so, then to post any mail at Post Office branches
Source : BBC Web Site
East London Disruption - 26th September 2007
POSTAL strikes threaten to cripple communications in East London this Saturday ahead of two nationwide 48-hour walk-outs next week.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) will picket local Royal Mail delivery offices in South Woodford, Leytonstone and Chingford to protest against pay and working practices. Then union members across the country will strike on Oct 5 to 6 and 8 to 9.
Source : Local Guardian
Stoke on Trent Wildcat Action - 12th September 2007
Workers at Burslem delivery office, Stoke-on-Trent, are on wildcat strikes after twelve members of staff were suspended including all union reps.Royal Mail management suspended the workers for bullying and harrassment, but has refused to comment on the allegations made. Their colleagues walked out unofficially in support of the twelve suspended and remain on strike.
The suspensions come after talks between the CWU and Royal Mail broke down early this week, although the CWU has not yet announced further strike dates and has asked for further talks, despite over a month of discussions producing no agreement.
Royal Mail is pushing through some measures such as later start times by "executive action" (i.e. without union consultation), and it is widely held that these suspensions at Burslem DO, which has been on work-to-rule with several wildcats over the past few months have been timed so that some of the most militant workers will be out of the picture while changes are pushed through.
Source : Libcom.org
Further Strike Action Likely - 12th September 2007
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail remain at odds after extended negotiations failed to broker a deal, leading to more strikes planned for September.According to Royal Mail, the CWU turned down a new offer in the latest round of talks, which would have increased the pivotal 2.5% pay offer to 3% through an employee "share of savings" scheme and included provisions for a 6.7% pay rise over two years.
It accused the CWU of continuing "to ignore the stark challenges facing the company and [refusing] to agree a way forward for the business".
The CWU said that the proposed deal included unacceptable terms for pensions and job expectations.
The failure to reach an agreement looks unlikely to derail Royal Mail's plans for modernisation. The breakdown marks the end of the "period of calm" during which these were put on hold.
Despite further talks scheduled for 20 to 22 September, the potential for further disruption to postal services remains as Royal Mail forges ahead.
"The union therefore can only presume that Royal Mail are set to implement unagreed operational changes," said the CWU in a statement.
"As a result, despite being committed to further talks and being determined to reach an agreement, CWU will announce further strikes to be held prior to the end of September."
The CWU was unavailable for comment.
Source : Print Week
Disruption in Stockport - 9th September 2007
STOCKPORT’S postal service was thrown into disarray on Friday as 350 workers stormed out of a sorting office in Heaton Norris.Staff staged the walkout in support of a colleague sacked over allegations of bullying.
Around 60 members held a meeting at Stockport Labour Club on Monday after staying out of the Green Lane sorting office over the weekend.
But they agreed to return to the area’s only sorting office on Monday afternoon after a union meeting.
Craig Webb, regional secretary for the Communication Workers Union, chaired the session. he said: "A member has been summarily dismissed for alleged comments and harassment of a threatening nature.
"We can’t comment in to much detail because the case is still subject to disciplinary processes and is pending appeal.
"But members took action because they felt there was no cause for dismissal."
Mr Webb added that the return to Green Lane was due to the union securing ‘some understandings’ with Royal Mail regarding a full external review of the matter, and a national union executive is working on the individual appeal.
He refused to rule out possible official action in the future if the incident is not resolved satisfactorily. A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Mail processing staff in Stockport took unofficial, unlawful strike action over a disciplinary case.
"Royal Mail did everything possible to minimise the impact of this action and urged its people to return to work.
"Deliveries of mail were not affected and managers carried out collections from postboxes in the town, so most services were maintained".
Source : <a href="http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/news/s/232/232214_postal_staff_stage_walkout_over_a_workers_dismissal.html" target=”_blank”>Stockport Express</a>
Stockport Mail Centre Action - 5th September 2007
Several hundred workers at Stockport Mail Centre returned to work today having walked out unofficially on Friday. Meanwhile national talks between the CWU leadership and Royal Mail have been extended until Sunday.
Workers at Stockport returned today after agreeing to ballot for official strike action. They had walked out on Friday following a mass meeting in the canteen. The walkout occurred shortly after a driver was sacked due allegations made by a scab during the official strike action last month.
Source : LibCom
Strike Update w/c 13/8/07 - 9th August 2007
Week commencing Monday 13th August.• Our Network Services teams will be on official strike from the evening of Monday 13th August until the evening of Tuesday 14th August. We regret that the collection and sorting of Royal Mail's bulk mail services will be subject to limitation and delay.
• Our International hubs will be on official strike from the evening of Monday 13th August until the evening of Tuesday 14th August. We regret that the collection and sorting of Royal Mail's International services (Airsure, International Signed for and Airmail) will be subject to limitation and delay.
• Royal Mail's Airport hubs will be on official strike from the afternoon of Tuesday 14th August until the afternoon of Wednesday 15th August. Alternative distribution arrangements will be put in place to keep mail moving, but we regret there may be delays to some national mail.
• Mail Centres will be on official strike action from the evening of Wednesday 15th August until the evening of Thursday 16th August. We regret that the sorting and distribution of outgoing mail will be disrupted. Some collections in large town centres from Mail Centre units may be affected, and limited to a single collection from Post Boxes outside Post Offices and may be earlier than the normal advertised times.
• Delivery and Collection offices will be on official strike from the evening of Thursday 16th August until the evening of Friday 17th August. We regret that deliveries on Friday August 17th will be very limited. Collections will be limited to a single collection from Post Boxes outside Post Offices and may be earlier than the normal advertised times.
• We regret all Special Delivery Guarantees will be suspended for items due to be delivered on Friday 17th August.
• Parcelforce Worldwide guaranteed services will remain unaffected.
• Royal Mail's Branch Direct, Sameday and Door-to-Door services remain unaffected.
• All other services are subject to delay.
The situation regarding strike action beyond Friday August 17th is unclear. The CWU must give at least seven days notice of any strike action, and we have well-developed contingency plans designed to reduce the effect of strikes. Managers will be volunteering to help keep as much of the service operating as possible in order to keep disruption to our customers to a minimum.
Walkout at Hawksworth - 9th August 2007
More than 500 workers walk out over the transfer of prominent strikers to elsewhere in the company.
The strike at the Hawksworth sorting office lasted two hours until the CWU union persuaded the strikers to return to work.
Wildcat Action Spreads - 7th August 2007
Wildcat unofficial action spread from Scotland towards the end of last week, with action in Liverpool, Newcastle, Chester and Hartlepool. The action was centered around mail centres in these areas...Liverpool:
Managers drove mail into the building, which resulted in a wildcat at the Liverpool Mail Centre when workers refused to unload the lorry. The wildcat was supported by Polish agency workers who refused to cross the picket line.
Newcastle:
Mail was diverted from Glasgow to Newcastle during the wildcats there, and eventually found it's way onto the sorting machine of a union rep who refused to touch the mail. He was suspended by a manager and escorted off the premises, followed out by 200 other workers. They returned to work yesterday evening.
Chester:
Chester mail centre walked out from 7am on Thursday after three drivers were suspended for not crossing picket lines. This included almost 100% of staff from all functions including agency drivers. They returned to work at 4am this morning.
Hartlepool:
Hartlepool delivery office walked out after a dispute related to a worker who took a photo of a manager trying to saw through a chain keeping the gates locked. The rest of the office walked out at approx 8am.
Source : CMS/IndyMedia
Scottish Backlog - 7th August 2007
ROYAL MAIL is clearing a backlog of mail in Glasgow by sending lorry loads of letters and parcels to sorting offices in England.
Management say it's normal practice. But angry workers claim it's a spiteful move to avoid having to pay them overtime.
The row erupted after hundreds of postal workers ended wildcat action last week and agreed to continue normal duties.
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The dispute - in the middle of ongoing industrial action in a bitter battle over pay and conditions - created a backlog of millions of letters and parcels at the Glasgow mail centre in Springburn.
They claim managers are being used to help tackle the backlog but are having to ask staff how to use machinery.
Workers also accuse supervisors of refusing to pay overtime to help clear the mail mountain but brought in agency staff at the weekend.
Norrie Watson of the Communication Workers Union today hit out: "They are rubbing our noses in it. Rather than pay overtime, management are taking mail from Glasgow to offices all across England for sorting before bringing it back to Glasgow.
"Some of the mail is being taken to the south of England while Royal Mail claims publicly it's doing everything possible to clear the backlog quickly."
One worker said: "The common sense approach is to keep the mail inhouse and give those employees who work at the mail centre overtime to assist clearing the backlog.
Royal Mail today admitted sorting offices in England were being used and said: "We are doing everything in our power to clear the backlog created by the unofficial industrial action as quickly as possible.
"We are using our normal recovery methods to achieve that. Our priority is to minimise the disruption."
Meanwhile workers at the Springburn sorting office will start a 24-hour stoppage on Thursday to be followed by a one-day strike by posties.
Source : Glasgow Evening Times
Industrial Action w/c 6th August - 6th August 2007
The impact of official strike action for week commencing 6th August.
• Our International hub (HWDC) will be on official strike on from 19.00 on Monday 6th August till 19.00 on Tuesday 7th August. As a result, Royal Mail's international services, Airsure, International Signed For and Airmail will be subject to delays.
• All Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs) and our Network drivers will be on official strike on from 12:00 noon Tuesday 7th August till 12:00 noon on Wednesday 8th August. There may be limited bulk mail collections, but these are likely to be earlier in the day than usual.
• The following Mail Centres will be on official strike from 3am on Wednesday 8th August until 3am on Thursday 9th August: Gatwick; Reading and Dartford. Customers can continue to post items as usual on this day, but we recommend posting in Post Boxes only. There will be limited business collections in these areas on Wednesday August 8th.
• The following Delivery Offices will be on official strike from 3am on Wednesday 8th August until 3am on Thursday 9th August: Crewe; Portsmouth; Gatwick; Reading; Truro; Swansea and Dartford. We regret there will be no delivery services in these areas on Wednesday 8th August. Collections will be limited to a single collection from Post Boxes outside of Post Offices, and may be earlier than the normal advertised times.
• The situation from Thursday 9th August until Friday 17th August is unclear, but the majority of Mail Centres are very likely to be on strike from 7pm on Thursday 9th August until 7pm on Friday 10th August. We suggest all customer posting mail into a Mail Centre bring their mailings forward wherever possible to avoid the strike.
• Parcelforce Worldwide's guaranteed services will remain unaffected.
• Royal Mail's Branch Direct, Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected.
• All other mail services will be subject to delay.
The impact of the strike action from Thursday 9th August is unclear, but we will clarify the situation as soon as possible, We have well-developed contingency plans and will continue to do everything possible to minimise the impact of strike action on our customers.
Unofficial strike action
Services may also be affected by incidences of unofficial strike action. We will do all we can to minimise disruption to our customers, but some disruption is inevitable when unofficial action is being taken, For the latest information on unofficial action, please contact our customer helplines - 08457 740 740 and 08457 950 950.
Source : Royal Mail
Edinburgh Wildcat Action Ends - 6th August 2007
A WILDCAT strike by postal workers has been called off after union officials persuaded postal workers based at Edinburgh Airport to return to work.Staff in the Capital had been refusing to deal with a backlog of mail caused by an unofficial walk-out by colleagues in Glasgow and Wishaw.
Staff at all the affected depots were expected to return to work today.
Official strike action planned for the coming weeks will still go ahead.
Bill Steel, postal executive council member at the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said: "It's fair to say in the case of Edinburgh this could all have been avoided if a little common sense had been applied by management in the first place."
A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "Royal Mail's task now is to get on and deliver mail to our customers.
"There is a backlog of mail but we are confident that we can clear this as quickly as possible.
"While the unlawful action has ended this afternoon, there will still be continuing official action over the next few weeks, which will cause more disruption."
Royal Mail Warns of Unofficial Action! - 3rd August 2007
Royal Mail have today warned that Unofficial strike action is likely to escalate along side official action from the CWU. Royal Mail advised today "Services may also be affected by incidences of unofficial strike action. We will do all we can to minimise disruption to our customers, but some disruption is inevitable when unofficial action is being taken. For the latest information on unofficial action, please contact our customer helplines, 08457 740 740 and 08457 950 950".
Creative Mail Solutions will endeavour to update this page to deliver up to date information concerning unofficial action as and when we are informed of such instances.
Source : Creative Mail Solutions
Week 3 & 4 Strike Action Details - 2nd August 2007
Exploratory talks facilitated by ACAS have taken place this week between The Communication Workers Union and Royal Mail. Further talks are planned to take place at ACAS later today.The Union‘s Postal Executive has agreed a further round of strike action. A full programme of the next planned action is as follows:
Programme for the Continuation of Industrial Action on a Functional/Site Specific Basis.
Week 3
• Mail Centres and Airports - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Thursday 9th August 2007 and before 19.00 Friday 10th August 2007.
• MDECs - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Friday 10th August 2007 and before 12 noon Saturday 11th August 2007.
• Deliveries and Separate Collection Hubs - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Friday 10th August 2007 and before 19.00 Saturday 11th August 2007.
Week 4
• Network and International/HWDC - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Monday 13th August 2007 and before 19.00 Tuesday 14th August 2007.
• Airports - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Tuesday 14th August 2007 and before 12 noon Wednesday 15th August 2007.
• Mail Centres - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Wednesday 15th August 2007 and before 19.00 Thursday 16th August 2007.
• MDECs - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Thursday 16th August 2007 and before 12 noon Friday 17th August 2007.
• Deliveries and Separate Collection Hubs - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Thursday 16th August 2007 and before 19.00 Friday 17th August 2007.
Source : CWU Web Site
Impact Statement - RM w/c 6/8 - 2nd August 2007
Despite our best efforts, and those of ACAS, to resolve the current industrial dispute, the strike action continues. The current round of strikes are not on a national basis, but affect different parts of Royal Mail's business on different days. This is set to continue until 12 noon on Wednesday 8th August. What this means for you
The situation is complex, but our assessment of the strike for the remainder of this week is:
• We regret that there will be limited delivery services on Thursday 2nd August.
• These collections will be limited to a single collection point from Post Boxes outside of Post Offices. These collections may be earlier than the normal advertised times.
• We will do all we can to deliver Special Delivery items, but Special Delivery guarantees, for both the 9am service and the Next Day service, will be suspended for items due to be delivered on Thursday 2nd August.
• Parcelforce Worldwide's guaranteed services will remain unaffected.
• Royal Mail's Branch Direct, Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected.
• All other mail services will be subject to delay.
How can you help us to minimise disruption to your mail?
• Try to post at your local Post Office, but be aware that we will not be able to accept bulk mailings (refer to the messages for Business Customers below).
• Normal customer service helplines 08457 740 740 and 08457 950 950 will operate but will be very busy. Please be patient.
• Royal Mail's website will contain the latest updated information.
Messages for Business Customers
• We regret that there will be limited delivery services on Thursday 2nd August.
• Please provide us with as accurate and as early forecasts as possible.
• Tell your account manager or Customer Operations Manager (COM) as much as possible about your mailing plans. This will help us to plan our resources.
We have well-developed contingency plans designed to reduce the effect of the strike and keep disruption to a minimum. Managers have volunteered to help keep as much of the service operating as possible. On Tuesday July 31st, only 1.4 million of a daily mailbag of around 82 million letters were subject to delays.
Impact of the proposed strike action w/c 6th August
• Our International hub (HWDC) will be on strike from 19.00 on Monday 6th August till 19.00 on Tuesday 7th August. As a result, Royal Mail's international services, Airsure, International Signed For and Airmail, will be subject to delays.
• All Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs) and our Network drivers will be on strike from 12:00 noon Tuesday 7th August till 12:00 noon on Wednesday 8th August. There may be limited bulk mail collections, but these are likely to be earlier in the day than usual.
• Business customers that use bulk mailings are asked to bring forward or delay postings to avoid the strike if at all possible.
The position regarding further strike action is unclear. The CWU must give at least seven days notice of any further action and we have well-developed contingency plans that we will put in place in the event of this. We will continue to do everything possible to minimise the impact on our customers should further strike action be taken.
Special Delivery guarantees suspended in Scotland due to unofficial strike action
Royal Mail sincerely regrets that, because of unofficial strike action in Scotland, all Special Delivery guarantees will be suspended for items posted in Scotland and items posted into Scotland, from Thursday 2nd August until further notice
Source : Royal Mail email
Scottish Wildcat Strikes - 1st August 2007
THE Royal Mail dispute plunged into further chaos today as 120 workers at the Sighthill depot walked out in protest, triggering more misery for customers.A stand-off took place after four members of staff in the warehouse refused to clear a backlog of mail created by strikes in Glasgow and Wishaw.
They were given 15 minutes by management to seek advice, but when they did not change their minds, bosses told them they would be "suspended from pay".
This means that although they have not been sent home, they will not be paid unless they do the job asked of them, in this case sorting out Glasgow and Wishaw's mail.
A union official, who was working at the site at the time, said within ten minutes the entire building had been emptied and workers had formed a picket line outside.
Today's mail had already been taken away but, if the stand-off lasted it was expected to have major consequences for tomorrow's deliveries - Sighthill is the only depot covering Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Borders, and Fife - which were already going to be hit by an official strike by delivery drivers.
It follows a wildcat strike at Edinburgh Airport last night, which was triggered by unofficial industrial action in the west of Scotland.
Graham Steedman, area processing representative for the Communication Workers Union, said: "I've asked members to go back in because this strike is unofficial and illegal, and they have basically told me where to go
"The members will not go back until the four workers are back on pay and not forced to deal with the scab mail.
"We've told management to put it to one side until a resolution is found in Wishaw and Glasgow, but they refused."
He admitted he did not know what would happen with the mail destined for Edinburgh and Lothians homes if the strike continued.
Staff at the depot staged an official strike until 3am this morning, as they took their turn in a rolling programme of industrial action orchestrated nationwide by the CWU.
Management tried to compensate by taking their place to ensure mail could still be delivered.
Mr Steedman said: "I assume management will try and move the mail as the day goes on.
"Tensions are definitely getting worse. Even during official disputes some managers flash their overtime documents, and brag about how much overtime they're doing, to antagonise the members."
A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "Staff at the warehouse refused to handle mail this morning and took unofficial action. They have not been suspended but their pay will be withheld.
"Unfortunately around 100 other workers then took unofficial action. Royal Mail is deeply disappointed they have decided to do so.
"We would encourage them to come back to work and would also hope that the CWU will encourage them to do so, to allow this matter to be handled using the proper agreed procedures."
Glasgow Wild Cat Action - 31st July 2007
THOUSANDS of Glasgow postal workers walked out of delivery offices today in a dramatic escalation of industrial action.Strike-hit Royal Mail was plunged into deeper chaos after 13 workers who had refused to cross a picket line were sent home and union officials claim up to 5000 colleagues walked out in support of them.
Around 1100 staff at the Glasgow Mail Centre in Springburn were already on official strike today and the wildcat action added to the disruption.
The Communications Workers Union claims a deal was offered to bosses which would have averted the unofficial action but it was rejected.
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The union said Royal Mail instead sent the men home and managers were deployed to deliver mail.
The CWU has called a month-long campaign of staggered strike action aimed at all areas of Royal Mail's operations as part of a dispute over pay and potential job cuts.
Today's escalation was sparked by the refusal of delivery drivers from Glasgow to cross a picket line at Edinburgh Airport last night.
A union spokesman said the response of Royal Mail bosses was to "abate" their pay and send them home.
He added: "An official of the branch approached the management and suggested they keep the staff working instead of sending them home. That was refused and the whole situation exploded."
Royal Mail said the workers who refused to cross the picket line were deemed to have taken "illegal and unofficial" industrial action.
Julie Morrison, the firm's head of external relations, said: "Unfortunately delivery staff and processing staff have decided to take unlawful industrial action and we are deeply disappointed they have decided to do so.
"This is having an impact on our ability to delivery mail in some parts of Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire.
Source : Glasgow Evening Times
National Action w/c 30th July - 25th July 2007
For the week commencing Monday 30th July,The strike will impact the following:
• We anticipate all Mail Centres (including offices in Northern Ireland) will be on official strike on Tuesday 31st July,
• Customers can continue to post items as usual on this day, but we recommend posting in Post Boxes outside of Post Offices. All Regional Distribution Centres (RDC) and our Network drivers will be on strike on Wednesday 1st August.
• We regret that there will be limited Delivery services on Thursday 2nd August.
• Collections on Thursday 2nd August will be limited to a single collection from Post Boxes outside of Post Offices, and these collections may be earlier than the normal advertised times.
• We will do all we can to delivery Special Delivery items, but Special Delivery guarantee will be suspended for items posted on Wednesday 1st August and those items due to be delivered on Thursday 2nd August.
• Parcelforce Worldwide's guaranteed services will remain unaffected.
• Royal Mail's Branch Direct, Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected
• All other mail services will be subject to delay.
How can you help us to minimise disruption to your mail? • Please try to bring your planned mailings forward to avoid Tuesday 31st July or Wednesday 1st August.
• Post early in the day if you really have to post on the day of the strike.
• Try to post at your local Post Office, but be aware that will not be able to accept bulk mailings (refer to the messages for Business Customers below).
• Normal customer service helplines - 08457 740 740 and 08457 950 950 will operate - but will be very busy - so please be patient.
• Royal Mail's website will contain the latest updated information.
Messages for Business Customers • Business customers who use bulk mailings are asked to bring forward postings to the earlier part of the week if at all possible.
• We regret that on Tuesday 31st July, Royal Mail's Mail Centres will not collect from business customers
• All Regional Distribution Centres (RDC) and our Network drivers will be on strike on Wednesday 1st August.
• We regret there will be limited delivery services on Thursday 2nd August
• Please provide us with as accurate and as early forecasts as possible.
• Tell your account manager or Customer Operations Manager (COM) as much as possible about your mailing plans. This will help us to plan our resources.
Source : Royal Mail email
Oxford, Cowley Disruption - 21st July 2007
Postal workers at Oxford's Cowley depot have vowed to extend their unofficial strike sparked by two staff suspensions.
At a meeting today, more than 150 Royal Mail employees voted to continue their strike until Monday.
The action will be reviewed at another meeting on Monday.
The workers first went on strike at 3.30pm on Monday.
Source : Oxford Mail
Strike Action Update - 25th July - 20th July 2007
Strike action starting Wednesday 25th July The Communication Workers Union has announced a series of strikes over a two-week period beginning at 7pm on Wednesday 25th July 2007, and ending at 12 noon on Wednesday 8th August.
The situation is complex, but we have identified the probable impact on services for the week commencing 23rd July. The strike will affect all Mail Centres, and 26 Delivery Offices that are co-located with Mail Centres on Thursday 26th July. The remaining Delivery and Collection services will not be available on Saturday 28th July.
Please note, this does not affect Royal Mail's operations in Northern Ireland,
We have well-developed contingency plans designed to reduce the effect of the strike and keep disruption to our customers to a minimum. Managers will be volunteering to help keep as much of the service operating as possible.
We are currently assessing the likely impact on mail services for week commencing 30th July and we will update you in due course.
Here is the list of Delivery Offices that may be on strike on 26th July:
• Cambridge Delivery
• Canterbury MC Delivery
• Cardiff Delivery
• Coventry Delivery
• Darlington Delivery
• Dartford Deliveries
• Derby Delivery
• Doncaster Delivery
• Hemel H. Delivery
• Inverness MC Delivery
• Maidstone MC Delivery
• Manchester MC Delivery
• Northampton MC Deliveries
• Norwich Delivery
• Oldham Delivery
• Paddington Deliveries
• Reading MC Delivery
• Romford MC Delivery
• Shrewsbury MC Delivery
• Swansea MC Delivery
• Tonbridge MC Delivery
• Truro MC Delivery
• Watford MC Delivery
• Wolverhampton MC Delivery
• Worcester MC Delivery
• York MC Delivery
What this means for you
• There will be normal access to Royal Mail services on Thursday 26th July.
• On Saturday 28th July services will be limited to a single collection from Post Boxes outside of Post Offices and these collections may be earlier than the normal advertised times.
• There will be no delivery or collection services on Saturday 28th July.
• We will attempt to deliver Special Delivery items. Special Delivery Saturday guarantee will be suspended for Saturday 28th July.
• Parcelforce Worldwide's guaranteed services will remain unaffected.
• Royal Mail's Branch Direct, Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected
• All other mail services will be subject to delay.
How can you help us to minimise disruption to your mail?
• Please try to bring your planned mailings forward to avoid Thursday 26th July
• Do not post on the day of any strike, but post early in the day if you really have to
• Try to post at your local Post Office, but be aware that will not be able to accept bulk mailings (refer to the messages for Business Customers below).
• Normal customer service helpline - 08457 740 740 will operate - but will be very busy - so please be patient.
• Royal Mail's website will contain the latest updated information.
Messages for Business Customers
• Business customers who use bulk mailings are asked to bring forward postings to the earlier part of the week if at all possible.
• We regret that on Thursday 26th July Royal Mail's Mail Centres will not collect from business customers
• Please avoid posting on Thursday 26th July.
• There will be no delivery services on Saturday 28th July.
• Please provide us with as accurate and as early forecasts as possible.
• Tell your account manager or Customer Operations Manager (COM) as much as possible about your mailing plans. This will help us to plan our resources.
24-Hour strike on Monday July 23rd in Northern Ireland
The Communication Workers Union has previously announced a 24-hour strike in Northern Ireland only, starting at 7pm on Sunday July 22nd and continuing through Monday July 23rd. Again, we have well-developed contingency plans to minimise the impact on your mail services, but there will inevitably be some disruption.
Source : Royal Mail email
Two Week Action - the detail - 19th July 2007
Proposed Programme for Industrial Action over 2 Weeks on Functional/Site BasisWeek 1
• Mail Centres and Cash Handling – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Wednesday 25th July 2007 until 19.00 Thursday 26th July 2007.
• MDECs – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Thursday 26th July 2007 until 12 noon Friday 27th July 2007.
• International/HWDC – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Friday 27th July 2007 until 12 noon Saturday 28th July 2007.
• Deliveries and Separate Collection Hubs - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Friday 27th July 2007 until 19.00 Saturday 28th July 2007.
Week 2
• Airports – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Monday 30th July 2007 until 12 noon Tuesday 31st July 2007.
• Mail Centres and Cash Handling – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 03.00 Tuesday 31st July 2007 until 03.00 Wednesday 1st August 2007.
• Network - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 03.00 Wednesday 1st August 2007 until 03.00 Thursday 2nd August 2007.
• Deliveries and Separate Collection Hubs – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 03.00 Thursday 2nd August 2007 until 03.00 Friday 3rd August 2007.
• Airports - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Friday 3rd August 2007 until 19.00 Saturday 4th August 2007.
• MDECs - duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 03.00 Saturday 4th August 2007 until 03.00 Sunday 5th August 2007.
Week 3
• International/HWDC – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 19.00 Monday 6th August 2007 until 19.00 Tuesday 7th August 2007.
• Network – duties, Scheduled Attendance and overtime commencing at or after 12 noon Tuesday 7th August 2007 until 12 noon Wednesday 8th August 2007
Source : CWU Web Site
Two weeks of National action - 18th July 2007
A two-week campaign of staggered strike action across the UK postal service has been announced by union officials.The rolling programme of walk-outs, to begin on Wednesday 25 July, will affect every aspect of the Royal Mail. It follows two earlier 24-hour strikes.
"This is designed to hit Royal Mail harder at minimum cost to our members," the Communication Workers Union said.
The union is locked in dispute with the Royal Mail over the company's 2.5% pay offer and modernisation plans.
The CWU has repeatedly criticised the Royal Mail for refusing to negotiate with its officials over staff pay, working conditions and the group's modernisation plans, which they say could result in 40,000 job losses.
But Royal Mail maintains that change is essential if the business is going to survive against steep competition from a growing number of entrants in the UK mail market.
It has been given £1.2bn by the government to invest in its future.
But union officials have attacked the group's business plan, which they is damaging for "the customers, workforce and the company" and call their modernisation agenda "commercial suicide".
Source : BBC Web Site
Oxford Action - 17th July 2007
Postal workers at Royal Mail's Oxford Mail centre are on unofficial strike yesterday (16/7) over the suspension of a union rep.The rep was accused of organising a flying picket to visit another mail office (Watlington) during Friday's official strike. 100% of staff were on strike for the late shift this evening.
Some workers believed the suspension had been planned in advance by management to provoke a walk out in order to attempt a change of contracts.
Other offices are on alert in case mail was diverted, which since many postal workers are frustrated by the current one-day official strikes could provoke action in other offices should it occur.
Bristol Action - 17th July 2007
Postal workers in Bristol were on strike yesterday (16/7) over a local dispute around sick pay arrangements.The strike was in addition to Friday's national strike, there are currently no further plans for action on this particular issue.
The offices works on a "one-week off in six" attendance pattern which is now under attack from managers. Workers have also been told to make up sick leave during their week off if they've had time off in the previous five weeks.
Local managers are also planning to fill all vacancies on a different contract, which is likely to affect cover and annual leave arrangements.
The CWU is likely to announce further national strikes tomorrow.
Industrial Action - Northern Ireland - 16th July 2007
The Communication Workers Union have announced a 24 hour strike in Northern Ireland only, starting at 7pm on Sunday July 22nd and continuing through Monday July 23rd. The position regarding further strike action in the rest of the UK is unclear.
Update from Royal Mail - 6th July 2007
Royal Mail has confirmed that the CWU have given notice of strike action, The strike will start at 7pm on Thursday July 12th 2007, and continue throughout Friday 13th July. Please note this strike does not affect Royal Mail's operations in Northern Ireland.
Royal Mail has contingency plans in place to reduce the effect of the strike, but disruption is inevitable.
What does it mean for you?
Royal Mail will not be able to collect mail from businesses during the strike period
Access to Royal Mail services is available on strike days - but limited to a single collection from street boxes outside of Post Offices, and from the 14,000 Post Offices not affected by strike action. Collections may be earlier than the advertised times
Royal Mail will attempt to deliver Special Delivery items, but this cannot be guaranteed, and so the money-back guarantees on these services is suspended for items posted on Thursday 12th July and Friday 13th July
Parcelforce's guaranteed services will remain unaffected
Royal Mail's Branch Direct, Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected
All other mail services will be subject to delay
Royal Mail aims to return to normal as quickly as possible and will deal with the backlog of mail in date order, which may affect mail services in the days after the strike.
Source: Royal Mail
2nd Strike Date Announced - 5th July 2007
Royal Mail workers announced on Thursday another 24-hour strike over pay and job cuts -- the second day of industrial action in two weeks.Postal workers will walk out on Thursday, July 12, and continue their strike action through Friday, July 13, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said.
It threatened to take further action if negotiations over pay and working hours are not resumed with the Royal Mail management.
CWU Deputy General Secretary Dave Ward said: "This problem will not go away -- Royal Mail are in denial if they think otherwise."
Union members went on strike on Friday, June 29 -- their first national strike in 11 years.
The CWU said earlier in June its members had voted in favour of industrial action due to Royal Mail's "below inflation pay offer" and its plans to reduce the workforce by around 40,000, or about 27 percent, by automating mail-sorting processes.
Royal Mail said the strike would add to the challenges it faces but it would continue to try and resolve the situation.
The company said it had to modernise to prevent the business from failing and that the only way it could improve pay, protect pensions and deliver customer service was by modernising.
It said the union's demands would cost the company more than one billion pounds a year and be the equivalent of a 27 percent rise in basic pay.
Royal Mail spokesman said: "Royal Mail calls again on the union to abandon strike action and the threat of disruption and focus on the need to modernise Royal Mail at pace."
It has offered a 2.5 percent pay rise.
The company is fighting private competition from Business Post, Dutch mail company TNT and others after losing its 350-year monopoly on postal services last year.
The group, which said last month that it had lost an 8 million pound contract with online retailer Amazon.com, lost key business when the government began paying benefits such as state pensions directly to claimants' bank accounts rather than through post offices.
Source : Reuters
Further action looming - 5th July 2007
Bulk mailers are bracing themselves for another potential postal strike, which could happen as soon as next Thursday (12 July).The news comes after Postcomm refused Royal Mail's request to suspend the payment of compensation to bulk mail customers for two years following Royal Mail's recent strike. Instead it will suspend payment until the end of the financial year.
In a statement on its website, the Direct Mail Association (DMA) said it was exploring alternative postal options for customers.
It stated: "Hopefully this industrial action won't last long. In spite of competition, there are only very limited opportunities to use another operator for delivery to customers.
"If it [the industrial action] looks likely to continue then the DMA will actively explore other viable options for members."
Royal Mail said it has well-developed contingency plans that it will put into place in the event of any action and that it "will do everything possible to minimise the impact on customers in the event of further strike action".
Robert Keitch, DMA director of media channel development, said that as long as the strikes didn't continue for prolonged periods, there wouldn't be a serious effect on the industry.
"There's been a fairly low-level impact on the industry, but if it's sustained and ongoing, it will not do us any good. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the world didn't end with the strike last week."
The first national postal strike in 11 years took place on Friday 29 June and since then there has been little movement on negotiations.
The strikes kicked off after talks broke down between Royal Mail and the Communications Workers' Union (CWU) over plans to modernise the service. The core issue was a 2.5% pay deal, which Royal Mail claimed it is not prepared to change.
The CWU said it would officially announce today (5 July) whether it will start new strikes, which reports suggest might span several days in different areas of the country.
Source : Printweek
Royal Mail's Update on Strike Action - 28th June 2007
We are hugely disappointed to confirm that the CWU have given us notice of strike action, which will take place on Friday June 29th. beginning at 3am. We have well-developed contingency plans in order to reduce the effect of the strike, but disruption is inevitable.
What does it mean for you?
- We regret that Royal Mail will not be able to collect mail from businesses during the strike period
- Access to Royal Mail services is available on strike days - but limited to a single collection from street boxes outside of Post Offices, and from the 14,000 Post Offices not affected by strike action. Collections may be earlier than the advertised times
- We will attempt to deliver Special Delivery items - but we cannot guarantee delivery, and so the money-back guarantee will be suspended for items posted on Thursday June 28th
- Special delivery items posted on Friday June 29th will be guaranteed to be delivered on Monday July 2nd
- Parcelforce's guaranteed services will remain unaffected
- Royal Mail's Sameday and Door to Door services remain unaffected
- All other mail services will be subject to delay
The backlog of mail will be treated in date order, and we aim to get back to normal as soon as possible.
Strike Talks Fail - 26th June 2007
Fresh talks aimed at halting Friday's national postal strike have ended without any progress, according to the Communication Workers' Union (CWU).A union spokesman said: "There was no new offer from Royal Mail, and no meaningful discussions."
He said the stoppage, the first in 11 years, would go ahead.
In addition to turning down the Royal Mail's 2.5% pay offer, the CWU fears the company's ongoing restructuring plans will cause up to 40,000 job cuts.
The Royal Mail counters that it cannot afford to offer any more money and needs to make itself more efficient.
CWU members voted for the strike action with a majority of 77% on a turnout of 60%.
Source: BBC News 24
Rumours of 2nd Strike Date - 25th June 2007
Rumours of a second day of national industrial action by Royal Mail workers have reached Creative Mail Solutions. We have been lead to believe that the CWU will announce a further day of strike action for 9th July. Source : Creative Mail Solutions
What Industrial Action Means to You. - 22nd June 2007
The strike will take place on Friday June 29th, beginning at 3am.Although Royal Mail has contingency plans, disruption is inevitable.
Royal Mail's priorities during the strike are:
* protect vulnerable members of society, who depend on Post Office payments of pensions and social security
* ensure customers can continue to post mail, through the Post Office network
* maintain Royal Mail Special Delivery services wherever possible
* maintain other delivery services wherever possible
What it means for Mail customers
* Access to Royal Mail services is available on strike days - but limited to a single collection from street boxes and Post Office Counters, which may be earlier than the advertised times
* Royal Mail will attempt to deliver Special Delivery items, but this cannot be guaranteed.
* Parcelforce's guaranteed services will remain unaffected
* All other mail services will be subject to delay
What you can do to minimise disruption to your mail
* Try to avoid posting on the day of any strike, and post early in the day if you really have to,
* Post your mail at one of the Post Offices not affected by strike action, but be aware that they will not be able to accept bulk mailings
Business Customers
* Royal Mail will NOT be able to collect mail during the strike period
* Post on non-strike days only
* If you need to post on a strike day, you can take your mail direct to your local Mail Centre.
Creative Mail Solutions Limited
Strike Date Set - 21st June 2007
Royal Mail workers are to hold a 24-hour strike on Friday, 29 June, the main postal union has confirmed.The Communications Workers Union (CWU) blamed the walkout on Royal Mail bosses not taking negotiations seriously, and said further strikes could follow.
Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier said the organisation was "very disappointed" and would do all it could to limit the impact of the walkout.
The dispute is over pay and the union's fears of potential job cuts.
The strike will be the first nationwide walkout at the Royal Mail since 1996.
Both sides have said they would welcome additional talks.
'Refusing to negotiate'
"We've tried our hardest to reach a negotiated settlement with the company, but the truth is again that Royal Mail are refusing to negotiate whatsoever on reaching a settlement before strike action takes place," said CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward.
"We have also agreed further strike action within two weeks from 29 June that is designed to maximise the impact on Royal Mail but at minimum cost to the CWU members."
Mr Ward added that the strike would include Post Office workers as well as Royal Mail delivery staff.
In addition to turning down the Royal Mail's 2.5% pay offer, the CWU fears the Royal Mail's ongoing restructuring plans will cause up to 40,000 job cuts.
'Losing business'
The Royal Mail counters that it cannot afford to offer any more money and needs to make itself more efficient.
"We are losing business because we have failed to change and modernise - and as a result, our costs and therefore our prices are higher than those that rivals are charging in the intensely competitive business mail market, which makes up 90% of all postings," said Mr Crozier.
"That's the issue everyone in Royal Mail has to face and why we are so ready to continue talking with the union about the need to modernise."
CWU members at the Royal Mail voted for the strike action with a majority of 77% on a turnout of 60%.
Source: BBC News 24
Heanor, Derbyshire - 21st June 2007
Striking postal workers in Heanor, Derbyshire, were joined by workers from the PCS civil service workers’ union on Tuesday of this week.The CWU union members are striking for seven days against the closure of their office and the transfer of staff.
No Agreement in Talks - 21st June 2007
Talks between Royal Mail officials and union leaders to avert a series of strikes have ended without agreement. Both sides met on Wednesday at conciliation service Acas, where Royal Mail insisted it could not afford to raise its 2.5% pay offer.The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) said that proposal had been "rejected" by its members, but added that it was open to further talks over pay rises.
CWU leaders will meet on Thursday to decide whether to call strikes. The union's members voted for strike action - the first in the UK since 1996 - by a majority of 77%.
If talks do not resume on Thursday, then the CWU executive could announce dates for industrial action, which would impact deliveries around the country.
The CWU would have to give at least seven days' notice of strike action, Royal Mail said.
"We remain hopeful that our people fully understand the damage that any industrial action will have on our customers and therefore our business and our future," a Royal Mail spokesman said. "We want to avoid any unnecessary disruption to the service we provide to our customers, and we continue to do all we can to persuade our people not to strike." The group said it had developed contingency plans which will be put in place in the event of walkouts.
The latest talks with the union come a day after Royal Mail lost a contract worth £8m from online trader Amazon. Royal Mail officials said the contract loss showed that it had to improve its efficiency still further to be better able to compete with its newer rivals in the postal delivery industry.
Yet the Communications Workers' Union (CWU) also wants Royal Mail to abandon its modernisation plans, claiming they will result in 40,000 job losses.
Source: BBC News 24
Bridgwater, Somerset - 19th June 2007
Over 100 Royal Mail workers have been on strike in Somerset against new working practices which would see them lose hundreds of pounds.Royal Mail managers have been sent to Bridgwater to cover the strikers' work, which was set to last from Friday to yesterday.
130 workers at the sorting office are on strike over plans to reorganise working practices. One postal worker on thisisthewestcountry.co.uk commented that he "would lose £500-£600 a year if we agree to the pay and changes."
Previous strikes have been staged at Bridgwater including wildcat strikes in 2002 calling for a shorter working week.