Posties begin their latest round of industrial action today.
And they have announced further strike dates in the run up to Christmas.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) based in Castle Douglas will down tools today and tomorrow – the latter known as Black Friday – as their dispute with Royal Mail escalates.
They will also walk out next Wednesday and Thursday and have also announced plans to strike on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and Christmas Eve.
A union spokesperson said: “The CWU want a negotiated settlement with Royal Mail Group and will continue to engage the company to that end. But those in charge of Royal Mail need to wake up and realise we won’t allow them to destroy the livelihoods of postal workers.”
The union claims a two per cent pay rise was imposed on them by Royal Mail bosses.
After talks through the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), a new offer that Royal Mail said was worth nine per cent was put on the table. That included a seven per cent increase over two years and a lump sum payment of two per cent this year.
However, it did not go down well with union bosses as it was conditional on changes to working practices, such as Sunday working and start times.
A further offer was put to unions this week but was rejected by the union which is now asking members to vote on whether they had confidence in the way the company was being managed.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We fully acknowledge the importance of reaching a resolution to our pay and change dispute for our people and our customers.
“After four weeks of talks facilitated by ACAS, we shared with CWU our views on what we believed the shape of a deal could look like, including numerous improvements and a pay offer of up to nine per cent.
“The CWU responded by making several false and misleading claims about the detail of what we were proposing and launching personal attacks.
“The CWU has shared its alternative proposals which we are reviewing and expect to get round the table to discuss again on Tuesday.”
