Postal workers strike for first time in a decade

Up to 130,000 postal workers across the country went on strike today, in what is the first industrial action at Royal Mail for more than a decade.

Members of the Communication Workers Union began a 24-hour walkout early this morning after talks earlier in the week  failed to resolve a pay dispute.

The union is reacting to a 2.5% pay offer and plans to modernise the organisation, which it claims will lead to massive job cuts.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

Royal Mail claims the union is looking for a 27% increase, which it said it can’t afford.

Dave Ward, the union’s deputy general secretary, said: “We have tried to reach an agreement, but Royal Mail is refusing to negotiate.”