Royal Mail has apologised after a manager in Gloucester put up a notice saying that the Communication Workers Union had reached a pay agreement worth 11% with management.
The notice said the pay offer would be backdated to April 2022, that workers would be able to use private cars for delivery, and that a fleet of diesel vans and bicycles would replace electric vans. It also stated that a recruitment campaign would be launched this week to hire 10,000 new “telegram boys”.
None of it was true, the notice was merely an April Fool’s joke that was widely shared on social media, as had been suggested at the bottom of the bulletin.
Royal Mail pay dispute
The CWU criticised Royal Mail’s “double standards” alleging that some of its members had been dismissed during the ongoing industrial dispute for sharing “funny memes”, but when a “manager winds up whole office – all forgotten”.
The union said: “Throughout the postal workers’ strike, Royal Mail workplaces have seen managers engaging in unprecedented levels of intimidation against postal workers … For many employees, the workplace is now a completely toxic environment where nasty, tone-deaf ‘jokes’ such as these are considered culturally acceptable.”
Royal Mail said: “We apologise for any upset caused by this misjudged April Fool’s joke at one of our delivery offices. The poster was removed and the local manager has apologised.”
Manager winds up whole office – all forgotten.
CWU members share funny memes – sacked.
Double standards by Royal Mail. And we will continue to expose them.https://t.co/4VPp0bwpuj
— The CWU (@CWUnews) April 3, 2023
The CWU, which represents 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail, cancelled a 24-hour strike on 16-17 February following a legal challenge from the company.
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It is poised to set new strike dates after 95.9% voted to continue industrial action in a re-ballot with a 77.3% turnout – the “biggest national strike vote” in British history according to the union.
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