Post Office staff set to strike as talks fail

Union accuses management of being 'aloof and absent from talks'

James Thompson
Friday 14 June 2013 14:36 BST
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Union leaders claim the Post Office is preparing to announce a £94 million profit
Union leaders claim the Post Office is preparing to announce a £94 million profit

Staff at the Post Office are set to go on strike for two days later this month over closures, job security and pay after talks between executives and the union broke down.

The Communication Workers Union said staff in hundreds of branches will walk out for half a day on June 20 and all day on Saturday, June 29.

It said that members at 373 Crown, or main, post offices have not received a pay rise in more than two years, while workers at other sites pocketed two increases worth 6.75 per cent over the same period.

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: “We’ve had informal talks this week, which allowed a good exchange of views and discussion on various options, but there’s no change, no new offers and no movement from the Post Office.”

He said it was about time that Paula Vennells, the Post Office’s chief executive, got “her hands dirty and engaged with this dispute, which affects the Post Office network’s biggest branches”.

The Post Office wants to close or franchise 76 Crown offices and cut a reported 1500 jobs.

The strikes will affect 4000 staff and will be the sixth and seventh one-day strikes since Easter.

Kevin Gilliland, network and sales director at the Post Office said: “We are disappointed at the CWU’s decision to call further strike action.

“This can only cause disruption to customers and cost our people money. We must continue with our plans to turnaround the Crown network to ensure we keep these branches on High Streets and in city centres across the UK.”

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