Chester Royal Mail staff strike in dispute over working hour

[johnnyp]

http://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/cheste ... 4529085.jp
Chester Royal Mail staff strike in dispute over working hours


Royal Mail engineers strike outside Chester Sorting Office on Jupiter Drive, off Sealand Road.

ROYAL Mail engineers in Chester took to the picket line as part of a national strike about working hours.
Altogether 800 engineers and security staff who are members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have been on strike from 6am on Tuesday.

The strike, which saw six workers from Chester Sorting Office on Jupiter Drive take part, is set to finish at 6am on Friday.

A CWU Union member from the Chester office did not want to be named but said: "It went well and there was 100 per cent attendance.

"The strike should not affect mail but we deal with things like gas leaks or electric problems."

The staff, employed by Romec, work in technical grades which include electronic security and buildings maintenance engineers.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "Romec are taking a draconian and completely unreasonable attitude towards changing attendance patterns for technical staff.

"This is yet another example of perverse management attitude in the business.

"This dispute could have a massive impact on the rest of the mail network as Royal Mail sites depend on these workers to maintain machinery and buildings.

"We hope that Romec will change their attitude and engage in genuine talks which address the concerns of the workforce."

Ray Ellis, CWU lead negotiator, said: "Taking three days of strike action clearly reflects staff's strength of feeling on this issue which threatens their social and family lives and earnings.

"The CWU remains committed to obtaining an agreement which includes proper reward for working weekends and unsocial hours and must have at its heart the voluntary principle."

The full article contains 274 words and appears in n/a newspaper.