25,000 posties in national walkout

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Angry postal workers have warned Royal Mail's "incompetent management" that a series of rolling strikes over pay and jobs will hit deliveries across Britain.

The Communication Workers Union said the walkouts will affect postal services across the country, including the West Country, London, East Anglia, the Midlands and Scotland.

The strikes, involving 25,000 postal workers, will be the biggest outbreak of action since a national stoppage in 2007, with more disruption threatened in the coming months.

The union's executive has also decided to hold a national ballot of its 160,000 postal members next month, which could lead to nationwide strikes in the autumn.

Strikes have hit several areas of the country, notably London and parts of Scotland, in recent weeks in the dispute over pay, jobs and services.

The action is now spreading to other parts of the country and for the first time will involve drivers of Royal Mail's huge lorries.

Drivers based in Northampton, Birmingham, Coventry, London and Essex will be among workers striking for 24 hours tomorrow, while postal staff in Somerset, Bristol and Edinburgh will take action on Saturday.

The strike will spread to Ipswich and other parts of Suffolk on Monday, with further areas set to be hit later next week.

The union said it had been forced to strike because cuts were being made to pay, jobs and services without agreement.

Deputy general secretary Dave Ward said the "panic-driven" cuts were damaging postal services and accused the Royal Mail of imposing changes.

"Postal workers are sick and tired of an incompetent management running their business into the ground. Workers are busier than ever and being treated badly," he said.

"The current round of cuts in jobs and services is unacceptable.

"Royal Mail agreed in 2007 to work with the union on agreeing modernisation. Despite explicit commitments to negotiate, they are reneging on that agreement and imposing panic-driven cuts to jobs and services.

"This is downsizing, not modernisation."

Mr Ward added: "The company has failed to set out any clear or joined-up vision of what modernisation really means. They must stop imposing change and work with the union to agree the bigger picture of modernisation that the postal service badly needs."

The union said that strikes tomorrow will hit the Birmingham vehicle operation centre, Burslem, Coventry Parcelforce hub, Edinburgh mail centre, Essex regional distribution centre, Huntingdon, 146 offices in London, Northampton national distribution centre and Peterborough delivery office.

Saturday's action will affect Boston, Bristol delivery offices, Dalkeith, Edinburgh, Peterborough and Skegness.

On Monday, workers will strike at Ipswich mail centre, King's Lynn, Stanton, Bury St Edmonds and Thetford in Suffolk and, from Tuesday, CWU members at Stoke-on-Trent will be taking continuous strike action.

A Royal Mail spokesman claimed that the union's real agenda was to block change and modernisation at Royal Mail "and to absolutely oppose on the ground our goal of making Royal Mail a strong and innovative leader in the UK and international postal markets."