Fresh Royal Mail national strikes are

Royal Mail employees are planning on staging national strike over pay, pension, and the company’s privatisation that can affect job security.

11:40 24 September 2013

Postal union CWU will vote whether or not to stage a national strike over pay, pension, and over the Royal Mail’s privatisation.

Ballot papers will be out on September 17 and the ballot will close on October 16. Should the yes vote win, the strike could be staged as early as October 23. Royal Mail has not had national strike ballot since 2009.

CWU deputy general secretary, Dave Ward, said: “The government’s privatisation agenda has destabilised everything. Postal workers are rightly concerned about their future so we want a legally-binding agreement on protections for jobs, terms and conditions – regardless of who owns the company.

“We don’t want a race to the bottom in the postal industry where companies compete on poverty pay, few employment rights and poor services simply to maximise payouts to wealthy shareholders. Without an agreement strikes are inevitable.”

“Royal Mail and Parcelforce workers deserve a fair pay rise and one that is not attached to unacceptable strings that include changes to pensions and a no-strike deal. The company made £403million profit last year so it’s not about affordability – especially when the government says the company would pay out £133million to shareholders next year if privatised.”