Shropshire Royal Mail workers out on strike again

The Shropshire and Mid Wales branch of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has around 1,000 members, with strike action at 15 Royal Mail sites taking place today.

They joined 115,000 CWU members across the UK, with the union describing it as the largest strike in a year that has seen industrial unrest across several industries, including rail.

Sites affected included Wellington, Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Oakengates, Tweedale, Market Drayton, Whitchurch, Parcel Force in Atcham, Ludlow, Newtown, Welshpool, Llandrindod Wells, Machynlleth and Aberystwyth.

Ruth Meadows, secretary of the Shropshire and Mid Wales Branch of the Communication Workers Union, said workers were being forced to continue their action due to unprecedented increases in the cost of living.

She said members expected the crisis to get worse as a result of the impact of the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss's controversial 'mini budget'.

The branch secretary said the members had no choice, and added that support from the public was strong.

She said: "Our members are very upbeat and very keen to be out on the picket lines, standing for what they believe in – a better pay rise.

"I think more and more people are identifying with it because a lot of different unions and such like are out on strike. The rail strikes are ongoing, the NHS are thinking about going out again. We are not the only union to be out on the gates."

The latest action is the sixth day in recent months.

The union accused Royal Mail of planning structural change, which would effectively see employees currently in secure, well-paid jobs turned into a "casualised, financially precarious workforce overnight".

The CWU said plans include delaying the arrival of post to members of the public by three hours, cuts in workers' sick pay and inferior terms for new employees.

The union has announced 19 further days of strike action in the coming weeks.

General secretary Dave Ward said: "Postal workers face the biggest ever assault on their jobs, terms and conditions in the history of Royal Mail.

"The public and businesses also face the end of daily deliveries and destruction of the special relationship that postal workers and the public have in every community in the UK.

"It is insulting the intelligence of every postal worker for Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson to claim that their change agenda is 'modernisation'.

"It is nothing more than an asset-stripping business plan that will see the break-up of the company and the end of Royal Mail as a major contributor to the UK economy.

"Royal Mail Group claim to be losing £1 million a day. The CWU believe these figures need to be scrutinised."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Three weeks ago, Royal Mail invited the CWU to enter talks through Acas to find a resolution to our change and pay dispute. We have not reached an agreement with the CWU on this request.

"Royal Mail is losing £1 million a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands.

"The CWU leadership's choice of damaging strike action over resolution is weakening the financial position of the company and threatening the job security of our postmen and women.

"We call on the CWU leaders to cancel their planned strike action and accept our invitation to enter talks through Acas without further delay.

"We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU's continued strike action will cause.

"We are doing all we can to minimise any delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected."