What is the postal strike really about?
The key issues are pay, pensions and modernisation. Last Thursday, around 130,000 postal workers walked out for 48 hours. Another two-day strike ended this morning at 3am. The next proposed walkout is on Monday. The Communication Workers Union rejected Royal Mail’s offer of a 2.5% pay rise in April. It points out that the average postal worker earns £323 a week basic pay, which, according to the CWU, is £80 a week below the national average wage. Adam Crozier, Royal Mail’s chief executive, says his staff are paid 25% more than rival workers in the private delivery sector but are 40% less efficient. He claims there are still numerous “Spanish practices”, such as postal staff asking for overtime if they finish two hours early and are requested to do other duties to complete their shift. “All we are asking is that people work the 37 hours 20 minutes for which they are paid,” he said. “If they work longer than that, of course they will receive overtime.” Royal Mail has proposed scrapping i
