How will strike ballots be delivered in the postal strike?
WHO, WHAT, WHY? The Magazine answers… Royal Mail’s postal workers are voting on a national strike. But with ongoing localised walkouts, how can they be sure their ballot papers will arrive? Off and on since the end of June, postal delivery workers have staged a series of localised strikes, leaving cheques, birthday cards and important documents delivered late or not at all. In some areas, homes and businesses have not received mail for up to 10 days at a time and there’s a backlog of between nine million and 25 million items undelivered. Now it may be postal workers themselves waiting for that crucial document to drop on to the mat. Union members are being balloted on a national strike and the ballot papers will be delivered by… the Royal Mail. But in the next week, localised industrial action will affect mail deliveries in Glasgow, Cambridge and London. Running an online or telephone ballot is not an option – by law, voting on industrial action must be conducted through the post.
