HUNTINGDON: Royal Mail staff on strike
POSTAL services in Huntingdonshire face further disruption this week as delivery staff go on strike. Employees at Huntingdon Royal Mail delivery office in St Peter s Road are set to stage a 24-hour walk-out today (Monday, August 14) starting at 3am. The a
POSTAL services in Huntingdonshire face further disruption this week as delivery staff go on strike.
Employees at Huntingdon Royal Mail delivery office in St Peter's Road are set to stage a 24-hour walk-out today (Monday, August 14) starting at 3am. The action will impact on the delivery and collection of mail throughout the PE postcode area.
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) claims it has "no other alternative", blaming Royal Mail for "attacking its members' terms and conditions".
In Huntingdon the CWU claims Royal Mail plans to cut the nightshift, leaving the day staff to pick up the extra work, impacting on delivery times and quality of service.
Adam Oakes, CWU area delivery representative, said: "Royal Mail is continuing to refuse to reach national agreements. They are now forcing the local postmen and women to take on extra work that they simply have not got time to complete within the duty times."
Royal Mail has condemned the strikes saying they damage customer confidence and undermine the service.
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A spokesman added: "There has been only a very minor backlog of post as 90 per cent of staff are working normally.
"Where there has been disruption volunteers have been drafted in to help."
Royal Mail has also criticised the CWU for threatening to stage a national strike in October, saying it is reneging on agreements to modernise the company.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Having met the union more than 50 times in recent months, it is increasingly clear that the CWU refuses to believe that mail volumes are declining by around 10 per cent annually despite the clear evidence of this in the UK and in every other postal market around the world.