Dorcan Postal workers continue 48-hour strike

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A 48-HOUR postal strike is set to continue today with more walkouts expected next week.

More than 70 drivers at the logistics depot, next to the Dorcan Mail Centre in Wheatstone Road, refused to work yesterday over pay and conditions.

They will continue their protest today and the disruption is likely to continue next week when a further 48-hour strike is planned for Monday and Tuesday. This follows a 24-hour walkout last Wednesday of drivers and 800 staff at the mail centre. There will not be any further action by mail centre staff until a national ballot has taken place later this month.

But, Chris Rye, branch secretary of the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), said negotiations with Royal Mail have restarted nationally.

He said: “We hope that the negotiations go well and we hope Royal Mail will listen to us. But we are prepared to keep up the pressure until Christmas if necessary.”

Paul Tolhurst, Royal Mail's operations director, apologised to customers for any disruption but stressed that everything possible had been done to ease the impact.

He said: “Modernisation means investment in new equipment throughout our operations and changes in working practices to reflect the fast-moving market we are now in “We again call on the CWU to help us secure a strong future for the business, its people and its customers rather than repeatedly acting to undermine it.”