Royal Mail officials have begun voting on whether to abandon the pay rise dispute, which could be the biggest strike this summer, as tram drivers have launched a 48-hour strike in south London on a separate pay line.
About 115,000 members of the Union of Communications Workers (CWU) have received ballots and will vote in the coming weeks on whether to organize an industrial action campaign. The results of the vote are expected on July 19.
The union said it 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 wages that keep pace with rising inflation. Railway workers staged three-day strikes last week.
The CWU called on Royal Mail to negotiate with the union to ensure a “direct, non-strict” increase in employees’ salaries. It says management intends to impose a 2% pay rise, which would be a “dramatic reduction in real-world wages” due to rising inflation.
A union spokesman said: “Britain’s postal workers have been forced to accept huge pay cuts from the same people for whom they have generated incredible profits. Our members go to food banks, while the bosses are rewarded with advance bonuses. “
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We believe there is no reason for industrial action. We offered a deal worth up to 5.5% for CWU classmates, the largest increase we have offered in many years, which was rejected by CWU.
“We need to agree on the changes needed to ensure that Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-growing industry, providing jobs for the future and maintaining its place as an industry leader in terms of pay and conditions.
Meanwhile, about 150 members of the Aslef union in the London tram network, formerly known as Croydon Tramlink, became the last railway staff to take industrial action, going on strike on Tuesday and Wednesday after rejecting an offer from a 3% operator. , First group.
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Finn Brennan, organizer of Aslef in London, said the proposal to pay tram drivers would mean a real reduction in wages for people struggling to cope with rising living costs, noting that the retail price index for inflation is over 11%. He said: “Our members do hard and demanding work, working 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. They deserve a fair pay settlement. “
He said FirstGroup’s profits had risen and it returned £ 500 million to shareholders, as well as paying the CEO £ 840,000 last year. While the trams are funded by Transport for London, Brennan said the company “prefers to use the money it receives from TfL to direct money to shareholders and wealthy executives, rather than paying fair pay to its employees.”
A spokesman for Tram Operations Ltd of First Group said: “It is difficult to see how Aslef can justify going on strike after taking advantage of a change in conditions equivalent to a 5% increase in November alone. Aslef must end these strikes and return to negotiations.
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