Carrickfergus DO to be hit by 24-hour postal strike

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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/ ... 56505.html

18 August 2009


Mail deliveries in Northern Ireland at the weekend will be hit by a postal strike over jobs, pay and services.

The 24-hour industrial action is to take place on Saturday at Carrickfergus delivery office and other parts of the UK.

The Communication Workers Union has accused Royal Mail of cutting pay and jobs — leading to worse services — without agreement, in breach of a deal which ended the last national strike two years ago. The company denied the claims and maintains the union is going back on an agreement to modernise the service.

The CWU is planning to ballot all its postal members next month for a national strike following several weeks of localised action. Strikes in Nottingham, Leeds and Carrickfergus will be the first in these areas since 2007.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Well over 90% of our people, and more than 90% of our operational units, will be working normally this week, and we again urge the union to call off its strikes and join Royal Mail's drive to complete the modernisation of the business as we tackle the intensifying competition from electronic media and the impact of the recession on mail volumes, now falling at around 10% a year.” Campaign group Consumer Focus Post urged customers to plan ahead for the strike by considering what they could do to minimise inconvenience including posting earlier or using courier companies.

They also suggested consumers who had bills to pay could use alternative methods such as banks, building societies or online facilities.

A spokesman said: “Post remains an essential service. Even a 24-hour strike will mean that important mail items such as hospital appointments, credit card bills and travel tickets could be severely delayed.”

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