Post Office workers to strike in 12th walkout since Easter
All this industrial unrest in cities makes me wonder what is being cooked up for our rural post office network. This story – which is resonant of the strike riddled 1970s – tells us:
Around 4,000 staff working in 372 Crown offices – the large post offices in city centres – will strike next week over plans to turn one fifth of these into franchised outlets in supermarkets and newsagents.
The industrial action – a nationwide strike on Monday, with walkouts in some parts of Scotland on Tuesday – raises the prospect that the increasingly acrimonious dispute will rumble on until Christmas, the busiest time of year for the Post Office.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents Post Office staff, claims the franchise plans will lead to 1,500 job losses and longer queues for customers. The Post Office insists there will be no compulsory redundancies among staff who work at the affected branches, nor a reduction in service.
Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the CWU, warned that the strike and other forms of industrial action could continue until Christmas.