New CWU strike to halt cash deliveries & collections at all 11,500 UK post offices
Postal, Post Office (PO), PO Supply Chain July 1 2022
Union calls out Supply Chain and Admin members and warns Post Office bosses to ‘stop the spin and get serious on pay’…
Andy Furey, national officer for the CWU’s Post Office members, announced yesterday that hundreds of cash and valuables in transit (CViT) workers and their cash processing and administrative colleagues will resume strike action on Thursday the 14th July.
“These members have crucial roles as they collect and deliver cash, valuables and essential supplies from and to every single one of the 11,500 sub-post offices in the country and all this work will cease when these members walk out on strike,” he explained, after serving formal statutory notice of the action to the employer in accordance with the law, just three days after serving serving an almost identical legal notice on the same employer in respect of Crown Office members – who will strike on Monday 11th July.
“The blame for this nationwide disruption,” Andy continued, “lies entirely with the senior Post Office leadership, who have repeatedly failed – actually wilfully refused – to set out a sensible and fair pay settlement for either the current 2022/23 financial year, for which they’ve offered a 3 per cent deal and a one-off lump sum payment of £500, or for 2021/22, for which they offered absolutely nothing.
“The pay proposal is far, far below the current 11.7 per cent RPI inflation rate and, therefore, totally unacceptable and, coming on top of last year’s total pay freeze, it’s not difficult to see why our members have been forced into dispute and why they returned a 97.3 per cent majority for this action.
“And today’s dashing of the hopes raised by the employer’s widely-reported media statement on Monday that it was “hopeful that we can reach a pay agreement soon” has further incensed this union and our members.”
Andy said: “Everyone knows that the only solution here is a fair pay rise that properly rewards members for their extraordinary efforts in serving the public and delivering a profitable Post Office, while also taking due account of the extreme cost of living. And there most certainly IS money available, but the management do not want to give our members their fair share.
“So, our message to the employer today was: ‘Don’t waste our time and our members’ time by misleading statements that raise false hopes. Stop the ‘spin’ and get serious about pay.”
Until you do this, the strikes will continue.”
CWU Supply Chain and Admin Northern Area rep Alan Robertson said: “POL say they want to settle the dispute, but then turn up to negotiations, and offer absolutely nothing new. The public have shown they are on our side. Horizon scandal and now this, how much bad publicity does POL want?
“If there’s no serious improvement on pay, we’ll be on those early morning picket lines on 14th July,” Alan continued, adding: “Our members are stronger and more resolute now than they were at the beginning of this dispute and Nick Read underestimates them at his peril.”
And his Southern Area counterpart Rob Jones said: “Our members are bitterly disappointed that there has been no further financial offer put on the table from POL despite the comm’s from the CEO Nick Read this week stating that further negotiations were taking place.
“It’s clear he really doesn’t care for our key workers who maintained a constant flow of cash for the millions of people who relay on cash during the unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s an absolute disgrace and similar to the way postmasters were treated with the horizon scandal.”
Looking ahead to the resumption of strike action on 14th July unless Post Office bosses make an acceptable offer, Rob said: “Our members in the Midlands and Southern Area will be rock-solid once again.”