ET

Thursday 24 May 2001

Millions of letters delayed by strike
By Thomas Harding

THOUSANDS of post boxes were sealed yesterday as the number of undelivered letters reached 10 million in the growing mail strike.

Union members in 15 postal centres and delivery offices staged sympathy strikes over a minor dispute that started at a sorting office in Watford, Herts. The unofficial industrial action is expected to go on at least into today, leaving millions of letters, including election leaflets and voting forms, undelivered.

Talks were being held last night to try to prevent the walkout from escalating into a national strike. Workers walked out at centres including Liverpool, Stockport, Chester, Manchester, Preston, Maidstone, Cardiff and all five main sites in London.

Leaders of the Communication Workers' Union have been locked in talks with senior Royal Mail managers to try to resolve the dispute and head off the first nationwide stoppage since 1996. A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Meetings are taking place at the most senior level to try to resolve the issues.

"Both the union and Royal Mail believe it is in the best interests of customers and employees that there is a speedy return to work. We are pretty disappointed that the union members have gone on strike when the Post Office and CWU are in lengthy talks over industrial relations. It is very regrettable the the effect this having on our customers."

The CWU had complained that industrial relations at a local level were at an all-time low. One union official said: "We don't think there's a cat in hell's chance of the talks resolving anything tonight. We can't say how long this action is going to go on or whether it will spread.

"The Post Office have been complaining that we should have greater control over the workers but what can you do if people want to strike?" The strikes started last week when 800 workers in Watford walked out after talks on changing night shift patterns broke down.

Watford's mail was transferred to Liverpool for distribution but when a worker there was sent home for refusing to sort it his colleagues came out on strike. Other areas followed suit leading to a nationwide action that is threatening to paralyse the postal system.

The Watford workers had gone back to work by the time their Liverpool colleagues took action but then went back on strike to support them. A total of 13 of the Royal Mail's 73 main centres for sorting post and 80 out of 1,400 delivery offices were affected. About 80 million items of mail are normally handled in a day.

There were fears that the strikes would hit the delivery of election material but Royal Mail said it was laying on special deliveries to ensure they got through. Forms requesting postal votes for people who cannot get to polling stations or who will be away from home on the day of the general election on June 7 must arrive at electoral registration offices by June 5.

There is also a threat of pre-election strikes from Tube and railway workers. South West Trains face mass disruption tomorrow and next Tuesday when guards from the Rail, Maritime and Transport union go on strike. Colleagues from London Underground plan to take similar action on June 4 and June 6.

They are all in dispute with their managers over a drive to reduce absenteeism.

-- Anonymous, May 23, 2001