Postal workers started voting on Tuesday on whether to strike in a dispute over pay. Around 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) received ballot papers and will decide in the coming weeks if they want to mount a campaign of industrial action.
The union is demanding that Royal Mail Group negotiates with them to secure a “straight, no-strings” pay increase for employees. The union said management intends to impose a 2% pay rise which will be a “dramatic real-terms wage cut” because of soaring inflation.
A union spokesman said: “Britain’s postal workers are being forced into accepting a massive pay cut by the same people they have generated incredible profits for.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We believe there are no grounds for industrial action. We offered a deal worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years, which was rejected by the CWU.
“We need to reach an agreement on the changes required to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry, securing jobs for the future and retaining our place as the industry leader on pay and terms and conditions.”
