The strike action started last week after a series of “bullying and harassment” claims by workers, who said the dismissal of a colleague was the “last straw”.
Royal Mail managers from across Scotland were drafted into deliver a skeleton postal service across Kilmarnock after workers went on strike.
The strike action started last week after a series of “bullying and harassment” claims by workers, who said the dismissal of a colleague was the “last straw”.
Workers at the picket line told the Standard on Monday that they were fed up with “managerial pressure” over working conditions, adding that they just wanted “fair working conditions”.
One postie, who does not wish to be named, said: “We’ve been dealing with pressures that are not acceptable in the workplace .
“We’re being kicked extra work without discussion and not getting paid for that, and it’s going over the head of the unions. The union is not being respected and management are breaking national agreements.
“And there’s been a number of other issues, including harassment.”
However, the strike action ceased on Tuesday after an early morning meeting between workers and management, with a spokeswoman for Royal Mail saying deliveries would be “out today” with regular staff with extra managers assisting.
The ‘final straw’ for the 150 workers thought to have been striking seems to have been the dismissal of a colleague who had been with the service for 29 years.
It is claimed that he sustained a shoulder injury over time as a result of his duties, receiving an operation to deal with this – however, workers at the picket line told the Standard that “management weren’t going to pay his wages or sick pay” whilst he was recovering.
“They were saying he was off sick too much,” one striker said.
Workers at the picket line were keen for people to understand that their action was “nothing to do with pay”. But not everyone was on board with the unballoted strikes, with a number of workers at the Queens Drive Royal Mail depot refusing to stand at the picket line.
Reacting to the strike action, Julie Pirone from Royal Mail said: “We were disappointed that unballoted industrial action took place.
“We sincerely apologise to customers in the local area for any disruption to their mail services.”
Ms Pirone added that Royal Mail were “fully committed” to resolving the concerns of postal workers based in Kilmarnock through the “national jointly agreed framework” with unions.
Rumours circulated on Monday that union reps at the Kilmarnock depot had distanced themselves from the unsanctioned strike action which is affecting all KA postcodes in East Ayrshire.
And there was wide-spread anger from residents affected, with a number taking to social media to vent their anger at how the strike action is affecting them.
One resident posted on Facebook: “Is it just me that’s raging at Royal Mail Kilmarnock depot? I’m waiting on two important deliveries and cannot go where planned without them.”
