Summer strikes threaten O2 and postal services

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Mobile phone network O2 is facing a possible strike by workers at its call centres, as talks with the Communication Workers Union aimed at averting industrial action are set to end on Monday.

The talks began on Thursday, but the union has already launched a ballot of members who work for O2 to prepare for strikes. The result is due on Tuesday.

Staff are concerned about plans by O2, which is owned by Spain’s Telefonica, to transfer 2,500 call centre jobs to outsourcing specialist Capita. The transfer is due on July 1 in a £1.2billion deal.

There have been reports that Capita plans to transfer many jobs overseas, though the company has said that nothing has been decided.
Capita’s deal with O2 guarantees employment to transferred staff for two years. About a thousand O2 staff have opted for voluntary redundancy rather than work for Capita.

The union said it would be the first significant strike by call centre staff since the privatisation of telecoms companies 30 years ago, which led to the creation of phone firm BT and then O2.

The O2 talks and ballot come amid growing unrest among CWU members working at Royal Mail and the Post Office. A consultative ballot of CWU members on the subject of privatisation will also be announced this week, on Wednesday.

This is not a strike ballot, but one of the issues being voted on relates to whether union members, who account for 120,000 of the 150,000 workforce, will deliver mail for rival, private delivery firms such as TNT Post, which pay Royal Mail for the service. A ‘no’ vote could be followed by industrial action.

Royal Mail is set to seek an injunction against the union if it goes ahead with plans to boycott delivery of private postal firms’ packages.

The union expects to win strong backing for taking action against rivals as well as firm support against privatisation.

CWU members are also involved in a further series of strikes due to take place on Thursday and Saturday this week at Crown post offices – the larger sites usually in high streets directly managed by the state-owned Post Office rather than as franchises.

The Post Office was split from Royal Mail last year and is now a separate organisation.

The walkouts by about 4,000 staff in 373 Crown post offices will be the sixth and seventh one-day strikes since Easter. Staff are opposing plans by the management to close or franchise 76 Crown post offices, with the loss of 1,500 jobs.

Union members voted nine to one in favour of the strikes at the Crown branches, which make up three per cent of the Post Office’s estate but account for 20 per cent of its transactions.

The Post Office, which receives a £1.3billion annual subsidy, has said the Crown post offices are losing £40million a year. It says that it will invest a further £70 million in the remaining Crown post offices and boost services.

[Red Robbo]

A summer of discontent, lets us pray the weather is kind to us

[UnhappyGremlin]

A summer of discontent, lets us pray the weather is kind to us

Hopefully. Morning on the gates and the afternoon in the pub.