THE Union representing postal workers says Royal Mail’s chief executive Simon Thompson is to blame for a round of strikes in the run-up to Christmas.
Andy Furey, national officer at the Communications Workers Union, insisted workers DID want a settlement and do not want to go out on strike.
Asked if postal workers have taken leave of their senses, Mr Furey told GB News: ”I think that question should be directed at Royal Mail’s Simon Thompson, the CEO.
“The responsibility for this dispute lies firmly and squarely at his door.
“He knows his actions have provoked our members.”
Speaking to Andrew Pierce on GB News, he added: “Let’s be clear, our members don’t want to take strike action…what they want to do is to get a fair deal that gives them job security.
“You talked about job security, we’re facing 10,000 job losses and compulsory redundancies. So let’s be clear, the CWU wants an agreement
“I’ve left a meeting with ACAS to take this TV interview. We are in talks, we are trying to find a way through this.
“But to get a deal, Royal Mail has to behave more reasonably, and they’ve got to respect their key worker employees.”
He told GB News: “Now in terms of the money you claim they’re losing per day, the reality is they declared a profit of £758 million back in May. And they paid shareholder dividends and buybacks of shares to the tune of £567 million this year alone.
“They can afford to provide our members with a much better deal.
“And to put this into context, they’re only offering a 1.5% pay rise from the first of April next year. That’s simply not good enough.
“Members need to keep a roof over their heads, need to be able to feed the family and pay the electricity and gas bills.
“The reality is the responsibility for this dispute lies with Simon Thompson the CEO and he needs to come to the bargaining table to thrash out a deal.”
