I met with Wokingham Postal Staff outside the old Wokingham Post Office in Broad Street in Wokingham on Wednesday 30th November 2022. I wanted to learn from our local postal staff their real-life perspective away from the national media reporting. I recognized many of them as our local Wokingham Borough postal staff.
There was a general feeling among them that they felt they had no choice but to strike despite it costing them a reduction in weekly salary. Many were suffering from the cost of living crisis but were taking the action as they felt they had no other choice. During my time with the Postal staff, several members of the public stopped and asked what the strike was about.
Striking Postal Workers said to me
This is not only about pay its about terms and conditions we will end losing money as the local allowances will be reduced over time making any pay rises irrelevant
They want us to work Sundays and sometimes at very short notice, its going to destroy my family life and not what i signed up for
The media is against us we are just normal people that worked really hard during the Pandemic and now we are faced with pay cuts and worsening conditions
Wokingham people are behind us we have many people tooting in their cars and people approaching us stating their support. They understand we are not militants
Wokingham is understaffed and we all work extra hard to cover the missing people its just not fair after we make all the effort
The CWU has formally notified Royal Mail they plan to call on their members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take national strike action on, Thursday 1 December, Friday 9 December, Sunday 11 December and Wednesday 14 December 2022.
What Royal Mail Say
Following several months of talks between Royal Mail and Communication Workers Union, including ACAS facilitation, Royal Mail has shared a best and final offer for pay and change. The revised offer includes extensive improvements that have been made during the negotiations with the CWU, including an enhanced pay deal of 9% over 18 months and a number of other concessions to terms and agreements. The offer is subject to agreeing a programme of change with the CWU.
We’re urging CWU leadership to accept the change and pay offer, call off future damaging strike action, for the good of our customers and our people. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause. We are doing all we can to minimise delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.
More at Royal Mail Strike Updates
Communication Workers Union
Our Royal Mail members have had an unagreed 2 per cent pay deal imposed on them.
This is at a time when RPI inflation is currently running at 11.8 per cent and when Royal Mail has announced Group profits of £758 million and when the company is paying out many millions to private shareholders.
In a national strike ballot over pay, our Royal Mail members voted by a 97.6 per cent majority to take action.
Our Royal Mail members have also voted by 98.7% on a 72.2% turnout for strike action in defence of our Pathway to Change national agreement.Our Royal Mail members have also voted by 98.7% on a 72.2% turnout for strike action in defence of our Pathway to Change national agreement.
The Royal Mail company leadership has reneged on the Pathway to Change agreement’s Key Principles and has begun to impose changes without negotiation and without agreement.
The planned dates for industrial action stated by the CWU are:
- Thursday 1st December
- Friday 9th December
- Sunday 11th December
- Wednesday 14th December
- Thursday 15th December
- Friday 23rd December
- Saturday 24th December
That isn’t the Wokingham Post Office?
George Maxwell xxx
Royal Mail Workers are in a difficult situation, the letter post system is at deaths door. Delivering letters, statements, bills are being replaced with email or online portals. With the Climate Emergency and increase is postal cost this will just increase business moving to a digital solution.
So will Royal Mail just become another Parcel Delivery Service? having to compete with the companies who have zero hours contract staff driving their own cars to deliver items? I hope not but we are in a world where price matters and even major brands use cheap courier services, as well as Royal Mail and others.
Simple question – forget bills, statements, junk mail and political mailings – how much actual personal post do you actual receive? Christmas Cards; Birthday Cards; invites to weddings etc.
We do need a universal postal service, the workers should have conditions of employment protected, but the Union and Management should work together to protect the future of the business which we cannot afford to lose. Should the Government and Regulator also take an interest since both have had a hand in reducing Royal Mail’s profitability?