Manx postal workers win 3.5% pay rise
30th September 2011
A deal including rises in basic pay, added job security and protection of pension rights has brought an end to the long-running Isle of Man Post Office dispute.
The agreement was backed by a mass meeting of the members held last month and they will now see their basic wages increase by 3.5 per cent, RPI calculation of pensions benefits retained and compulsory redundancies ruled out.
The salary hike, which is backdated to April 2011 and covers the period until April 2012, compares well with other public-sector pay awards on the island - a nil award for the island's Electricity Authority employees and a 1.5 per cent rise for civil service staff, the cost of which must met from "within the existing pay budget via internal efficiencies."
As well as moving forward on pay, the agreement removes all references to compulsory redundancies and improves the voluntary redundancy arrangements, raising the former statutory terms and lifting the previous wage calculation limit, while also maintaining the retail price index pensions criteria.
CWU assistant secretary
Terry Pullinger, who led the union's
negotiating team, said that he was: "very pleased at the
welcome shift in the company's attitude.
"For months and months they insisted that there would be no pay rise, that wages were frozen and that they would not budge - but our members showed that they were determined to win justice and that they would not be bullied or divided," he continued.
A key turning point was the 84 per cent vote for industrial action back in March, which raised the prospect of the island's first postal strike and concentrated minds on finding a satisfactory solution.
Commenting on the agreement, Terry said: "It's a good deal for our members. We haven't got everything we wanted, but there is real progress on each of our priority areas - job security, pensions and pay."
