Post Office strikes to continue into the New Year as pay rise can't be agreed

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https://www.lancs.live/news/cost-of-liv ... w-25544271

Post Office workers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of further strike action to continue into next year

Britain will see continued Post Office strikes, as workers up and down the country have voted to continue strike action into the New Year.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) which represent Post Office workers have voted to continue industrial action into 2023. In a national re-ballot, the vote was in favour for further strikes by 91.24% on a 65.21% turnout.


The workers are fighting a "dramatic" real-terms pay cut, as RPI inflation is now reaching 14.2%. The strikes are focused around workers having rejected a pay freeze for 2021/22, with an offer given to them of a pay rise that came into effect on 1 April 2022.

This also included a £500 one-off lump sum, but the current economic climate is such that the pay offer represents a "dramatic real-terms pay cut" for those involved. This is in spite of the Post Office making £35million in profits during 2020/21 financial years, as well as a subsequent £39million for the 2021/22 period.

As well as voting in overwhelming numbers for further strike action, workers also took to the ballots for "action short of a strike". 92.36% voted in favour of this, meaning workers will work to rule, so will not participate in overtime or any other work that is beyond their contractual obligations.

CWU Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Andy Furey said: “This dispute has always been about a company having respect for dedicated public servants who, as key workers, provided unprecedented customer service during the pandemic.

“The determination of these people hasn’t swayed, and nor has their sense of betrayal. They won’t accept their living standards being smashed by people running a service that generated tens of millions of pounds in profit out of our members’ efforts.

“There is more than enough money for a reasonable pay rise – implementing this real-terms pay cut has always been a management choice, not a necessity. We urge management to see sense, get into real negotiations and cut a fair deal to avert these strikes.”

The news of Post Office workers voting in favour of more strike action comes in the wake of the Chancellor's Autumn Budget announcement. Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the UK has been hit by recession and also announced plans for new cost of living payments, tax hikes and increased energy bills.