Unite condemns Parcelforce over failure to deliver on pay

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Britain’s biggest union, Unite, is warning Parcelforce it risks sparking industrial action after management went ahead with a pay deal which had been overwhelmingly rejected by union members.

As a result of a pay review bosses at the courier company, a subsidiary of Royal Mail, have acted unilaterally to implement a paltry 2.8 per cent increase dating back to July 2014.

The union believes members are being “bullied” into accepting a derisory offer and intends to hold a ballot on a work to rule. Parcelforce employees are already paid less than Royal Mail workers and the proposed settlement would hit them even harder.

Unite has members at over 50 Parcelforce depots around the UK, more than 80 per cent of whom rejected the company’s proposals on pay.

Commenting, Unite CMA officer Brian Scott said: “Unite members at Parcelforce deserve and expect the same as their colleagues in Royal Mail and that has just not happened. This demonstrates a contempt for workers and Unite members.

“We now have no alternative but to seek a ballot for a work to rule. There’s no doubt this action will have a significant impact on Parcelforce customers.

“Unite members work more than their normal hours each day and they do so as a commitment to the company and to its customers. Our members now feel they are being taken for granted and, indeed, bullied by the management to accept this deal.

“We asked the company for an urgent meeting once members decided to throw out the pay offer, but they did not even bother to respond before rushing to enforce this paltry pay offer.

“We call on bosses to get round the negotiating table with us now in order to resolve this dispute and get a fair deal for hardworking employees who deliver for this company day-in-day out.”

ENDS
For further information contact Douglas Beattie in the Unite Press Office on 020 3371 2065..

Notes to editors:
Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest trade union with over 1.4 million members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Len McCluskey.