A nationwide week of action against government plans to axe 2,500 post offices kicks off on Tuesday 20 February, with a demonstration in Westminster.
The Future for our Post Office coalition will hold a mass rally in Central Hall at 1pm and lobby Parliament at 3pm.
Members of the coalition – including the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), Age Concern and the Countryside Alliance – are angry at government plans for the Post Office.
A consultation on the plans, which include closing sites that are seen as unviable, is open until 8 March.
A CWU spokesman said: “While we welcome some aspects of the government’s announcement, we are concerned that if allowed to go ahead, the proposals will lead to a massively reduced post office network with the loss of thousands of post offices, well-paid jobs and a reduced quality of service.”
Demonstrations in Edinburgh, Worcester, Cirencester and Harrow will follow this week as the coalition fights the closures.
“The aim of the week is to highlight the huge negative impact closures of post offices across the country will have on the public in both rural and urban areas.” said Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary.
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The government pointed out that Post Office’s losses had risen to almost £4m per week and that the network was unsustainable in its present form.
“With new technology, changing lifestyles and wider choice in how services are accessed, people are visiting post offices less,” said the consultation document.
