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The Communication Workers Union opened a ballot on Tuesday, June 28 for 115,000 Royal Mail postal workers to stage a national strike about low pay. The union argued Royal Mails’ profits quadrupled in the financial year to March 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, but workers face conditions the CWU have likened more to a pay cut.
The CWU is seeking a pay rise in line with inflation, which hit a staggering 9.1 percent in May, with predictions it’ll increase to double figures by October.
However, according to the CWU deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger, the Royal Mail has imposed a two percent pay award, which is “miles away” from where inflation is.
Mr Pullinger said: “Throughout this entire dispute, Royal Mail management have conducted themselves insultingly and disrespectfully to key workers,”
“Their conduct, and particularly the imposition of such an aggressive pay offer, has eroded trust among loyal employees.”
READ MORE: Royal Mail workers to vote on strike action that could cripple post
However, Royal Mail said it believed there were “no grounds for industrial action”.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We offered a deal worth up to 5.5 percent for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years, which was rejected by the CWU.”
They continued: “We need to reach an agreement on the changes required to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry, securing jobs for the future and retaining our place as the industry leader on pay and terms and conditions.”
Are strikes looking likely?
CWU general secretary Dave Ward told Sky News he was expecting a “very big yes vote” on the back of record profits for the company and a £400m payout to Royal Mail shareholders.
He said: “At the same time as the CEO and board have decided to impose a two percent pay increase on workers, they’re getting bonuses in the region of £140,000.
“By any level of fairness, this is completely unacceptable”.
Describing the attitude of Royal Mail senior management as “extremely disappointing”, Mr Pullinger said: “These profits – even if it’s £416m – are a massive turnaround from when they were predicting potential losses of £500m.
“All of that profit has been delivered by ordinary working people delivering massive amounts of letters and parcels.
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“Our members have clearly done brilliantly. The problems they faced were like mountains and our members went up them.
“This is a growth market and we’re the biggest service provider in the UK. So, no we’re not in crisis and there’s so much to be achieved.”
Arguing against strike action, Royal Mail has said further talks were scheduled with the union this week with hopes to reach an agreement.
The CWU is the latest of a number of unions to ballot for strike action as the cost of living soars at its fastest rate in 40 years.
The UK’s railways came to a halt when over 40,000 RMT Union members walked out last week, while hundreds of British Airways staff at Heathrow Airport have also voted to strike over their wages.
However, the Government has warned against employers handing out large increases in salaries to offset living costs over fears of a 1970s style “inflationary spiral”, where firms raise wages and pass the cost on to customers through higher prices.
Simon Clarke, Chief Secretary to the Treasury said: “We need to be very careful to avoid fuelling an inflationary spiral in a way, which actually is to everyone’s detriment.
“It will allow it to run away from us – that is what the Governments of the 1970s failed to address and what we need to prevent occurring in 2020s.”
The CWU opened the ballot today and results will be announced by July 19.
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