Royal Mail executives voted to strike in a dispute over job cuts and a redeployment program to introduce “worsening conditions”.
Members of the Unite union in the UK supported the departures by 86% and 89% in Northern Ireland in the dispute, which involved about 2,400 managers in more than 1,000 delivery offices. The dates of the strike should be announced later this week, Unite said.
Union Secretary General Sharon Graham said “enough is enough” and that Royal Mail shareholders are “grabbing profits”. She said: “It is no surprise that these workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of industrial action.
“Make no mistake, Royal Mail is full of money – there is no need to lay off workers, reduce wages or follow this ill-conceived reassignment program.
“These plans are entirely about greed and profit in the boardroom and have nothing to do with providing this vital public service.
“Shareholders seize Royal Mail’s profits while our members maintain the service together. Enough is enough.
“Our Royal Mail members are guaranteed 100% Unite support in every industrial action they take this summer to get the company out of this disastrous path.”
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are disappointed to hear that Unite members have voted in favor of both industrial action and industrial action, in addition to the strike, also known as management work.
“Unite stated that they will inform us in due time about the conditions of any industrial action.
“During the voting process, Unite’s headquarters misled members about additional job losses. This is not true. Unite ignored our request to correct these allegations.
“There is no reason for industrial action. The expanded consultation on these changes ended earlier this year and the restructuring was completed.
“We are committed to protecting the pay of all managers who remain in Royal Mail, and the vast majority will see an increase in their revenue.”
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The industrial action was not related to the voting of about 115,000 postal workers belonging to the Union of Communications Workers (CWU). Members began voting on Tuesday on whether to organize an industrial action campaign, with the result expected on July 19th.
The CWU said this could be the “biggest strike” in what is emerging as a summer of discontent, as thousands of workers from various industries come out to demand wage bonuses that keep pace with rising inflation.
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