Post office staff to strike in row over pay and closures

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Employees at 370 branches to walk out in protest at plan to franchise many stores and cut more jobs



Thousands of staff in the country's biggest post offices will strike on Saturday in a row over jobs, pay and closures. Staff at 370 of the Post Office's so-called crown branches will walk out in protest at plans to close or franchise 70 sites.

The Communications Workers Union (CWU), which represents many of those walking out, said hundreds of jobs would be affected by the proposals, which it warned could cause further problems for high streets already struggling with shop closures.

The union said staff had not received a pay rise for two years.

The Post Office, which operates more than 11,500 sites in the UK – of which about 10,000 are franchised – said the plans to franchise further branches would benefit the long-term survival of the high street.

"There has been a lot of talk about the damage franchising will do to the high street, but in truth this is better for the high street," the Post Office said. "This is about the long-term viability of that post office on that high street, which will be lost otherwise."

The Post Office said crown branches were losing £40m a year and accused the union of ignoring the harsh realities the company faced.

Picket lines will be mounted outside the post offices, and customers will be urged to back the union's campaign. Dave Ward, the CWU's deputy general secretary, said: "Our post office members are standing up against destructive plans which would slash 20% of the crown network and are simply asking for fair treatment and job security."

Kevin Gilliland, network and sales director at the Post Office, said: "We regret any disruption to services the CWU's call for strike action may cause to customers. Crown branches are currently losing £40m per year and this is being subsidised by public money. This cannot continue."

The Post Office said discussions were not yet under way over who would take on potential franchises, but since plans were announced this month there had been more than 100 expressions of interest.