Company blames striking workers but CWU members cite ‘ridiculous’ grounds for disciplinary action
A passing member of the public salutes striking postal workers in Camden, London
CWU members on strike for their job, pay and conditions have accused Royal Mail of waging a campaign of ‘spurious’ disciplinaries against workers and especially their union reps in an attempt to disrupt the strike action. The company has issued a statement blaming the workers.
Striking posties have told Skwawkbox that the grounds used for disciplinary action, including suspension, have been ‘ridiculous’ and ‘playground’ – citing examples such as:
action against workers who wore halloween masks on halloween
using the word ‘scab’ to describe workers who cross picket lines and work during the strike
complaints by strike-breaking workers that striking workers ‘won’t talk to me’
Some 115,000 postal workers are engaged in the strike because of Royal Mail’s attempt to impose a massive real-terms pay cut and what the union says are plans to run down the service and cut jobs. Royal Mail also launched an assault on the union’s workplace activities and network of reps, while Royal Mail’s management was actually in a meeting supposedly to negotiate.
Skwawkbox contacted Royal Mail for comment on the workers’ allegations. The company responded by blaming workers for their conduct on picket lines, which it said it had highlighted to CWU leadership – Ward has responded by accusing the company of goading and waging a ‘psychological attack’ on workers. A company spokesperson said:
This behaviour has no place in any civilised workplace. The direct intervention of the CWU’s General Secretary is needed to end this culture of intimidation on the picket line, including many incidents by CWU representatives. More than 10,000 frontline employees chose to work on each of the last two days of strike action, and with numbers increasing with each passing day of industrial action, they should feel confident that they can do so safely and without the risk of harm. We have zero tolerance for bullying or harassment. We will continue to support any employee who works on a strike day. They can be assured that we will investigate every incident and allegation and take swift action to discipline the individuals involved appropriately.
Asked about the company’s claims of increasing numbers returning to work, a CWU rep told Skwawkbox:
Out of almost a hundred people working at my local depot, two have been working through the strike. On the last day of the strike that went up to three so if you want to spin it, that’s a fifty percent increase. But the postal workers are standing strong and we have support from the bulk of the public.