Pay strike – Royal Mail urged to sort it
20th December 2012
The Communications Workers Union is calling on Royal Mail to step in to sort out a wages dispute that threatens the Christmas post.
Striking engineers and cleaners will be setting up picket lines outside post depots across the UK tomorrow (21st December) in protest at a 1.5 per cent below inflation pay offer.
The 24 hour walkout is by workers employed by Romec - a joint venture between Royal Mail and construction giant Balfour Beatty.
A secret ballot of 1,900 Romec workers produced a 91 per cent vote for strike action.
Bosses offered 1.5 per cent over a 27 month period - after giving themselves bonuses of between 9 and 15 per cent.
Romec has exceeded all its business targets.
Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "Royal Mail has orchestrated this dispute. The firm should now come to the ongoing talks at the conciliation service ACAS and sort it out.
"Royal Mail complain about private postal companies racing to the bottom - but in the case of Romec they are collaborating to drive down wages of cleaners already paid three percent less than the living wage"
"Unless they sort it out this dispute will have an increasing affect on the postal service."
The strike could leave facilities unrepaired and premises not cleaned - with consequences for health and safety.
Picket lines will be nationwide including premises at Rathbone
Place, central London; Home counties north mail centre, Hemel
Hempstead; Manchester mail centre; Cardiff; Nottingham; Swindon;
Warrington mail centre; Belfast delivery office; Meadway mail
centre, Rochester; Doncaster, Newcastle and Bristol.
