POSTAL STRIKE SET TO SPREAD AMID TALKS DEADLOCK

[TrueBlueTerrier]

This is Staffordshire Link

09:40 - 05 January 2008

A postal strike in the north of Stoke-on-Trent is set to spread to the rest of the city and into other parts of the Midlands after the latest talks to settle the bitter dispute broke down last night.

National leaders of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will meet in London on Tuesday to decide whether to stage office-by-office ballots throughout the city, county and beyond.

The move is aimed at forcing Royal Mail to allow an independent national appeals panel to rule on each of the suspensions of workers at the depot in Burslem.

The threatened escalation came two days after about 100 colleagues backing the 12 staff launched their second wave of stoppages to extend a 15-day walk-out by a further two weeks.

Union divisional representative and national executive member Mick Kavanagh said: "The ball is totally in Royal Mail's court. We have already offered to abide by any ACAS review and are doing all we can to settle this.

"Now we are saying if they agree to an independent national appeals panel on each case, the dispute will be over and our members will be back to work immediately.

"But they won't budge from insisting in continuing through their own management processes which we find totally unacceptable.

"The appeals panel would have a representative from us, one from management with a barrister acting as an independent chairman.

"We are now looking to spread the action to the rest of the city, into Staffordshire and even elsewhere in the Midlands.

"The public of Stoke-on-Trent should understand that it is Royal Mail entirely who are creating this dispute - not us."

He added that following ballots in other offices, the strike could start to spread within two or three weeks.

Yesterday's talks in Birmingham - resumed from the previous day - broke down after less than two hours.

Afterwards, a Royal Mail spokesman said: "The only positive to be drawn out of it is that both sides are still talking."

The union is calling for the reinstatement of nine workers suspended in September over allegations of bullying and harassment. Another three workers, who have been told they can return to work, have stayed off in support of their colleagues.

About 200 managers have been drafted in from all over the county to get some mail through to the ST6 postal area stricken by the unrest. But union officials say they have found evidence that hundreds of letters have been dumped and have reported the incidents to the national regulator Ofcom.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

2 COMMENTS - Sentinel wtf has Ofcom to do with Royal Mail - Have Royal Mail opened a new TV/Radio station, or perhaps we are branching out into Radio Communications.

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services.

For members please visit the site as the comments appear to be about 50/50 in support but the educated amongst them who don't believe everything they read or hear seem to be on Burslems side.

[post54]

union hq acted too slow on this should ballot every office or this b/h will hit everyone

[dvbuk55]

union hq acted too slow on this should ballot every office or this b/h will hit everyone

You are absolutely correct, there should have been an amnesty on all disputed disciplinary cases issuing from the industrial action as part of the agreement.