Postal workers to vote on strike on sorting office closures

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http://www.creweguardian.co.uk/news/382 ... e_closure/



1:02pm Wednesday 5th November 2008
By Mark Hilditch »


UNION leaders are set to ballot more than 600 postal workers in Crewe over strike action against plans to close the town’s major sorting office.

The plans by Royal Mail would see the closure of the Weston Road mail centre with the jobs transferred to a new site in Warrington.

But workers, union leaders and local politicians have launched a campaign to save the Crewe office, insisting that workers will not be able to afford the travel costs involved.

With the backing of Crewe and Nantwich MP Edward Timpson, union representatives have handed in a petition to Downing Street calling for the Government to step in and halt the plans.

Last week workers marched through the town centre, meeting for a rally on the Municipal Square where they heard speeches of support from union leaders, politicians and business experts.

CWU Cheshire branch secretary Steve Wright travelled to London yesterday (Wednesday) to meet with national union leaders about the issue.

Speaking before the meeting, he said: “I don’t want industrial action and have never wanted it. If we do come to that it will be because of the intransigence of Royal Mail.

“What I do want is for the mail centre in Crewe to remain open and we will do everything in our power to make sure that happens.

“The support from people during the rally was fantastic. They seem to really understand what we are going through.”

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward has pledged the support of the union and warned that Royal Mail’s plans would ‘destroy people’s lives and livelihoods’.

In his own message to Royal Mail, he said: “We’re going to fight you every inch of the way.

“Until you do the right thing and sort out the mess you’ve got this company in.”

He said unless the company halts its closure programme and sits down to serious negotiations with the CWU the mail centres ballot could ultimately lead to a full national industrial action ballot.

A Royal Mail spokesman said the Crewe centre can’t accommodate new automation equipment the company is investing in.

He said there is also very limited potential to extend the Crewe premises, making them not viable.