Tragedy strikes

[bigsharkboy]

heard today on the picket line from a lorry driver that the manager was on his mobile phone at the time and he hadnt had the correct training cant say if this rumour is true but my manager told us on the line hes been arrested and charged with dangerous driving

if its true lets hope they throw the book at him but under the circumstances lets see if RM discipline him

:lfo :lfo :lfo :cfo :cfo :cfo

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://tinyurl.com/2zy3rj

The driver of a Royal Mail lorry who was arrested after a road accident which killed a father-of-five was an office worker not employed to drive heavy goods vehicles.Phil Edmonds, 46, from Newton Abbot, South Devon, was bailed by police until October after being arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

The Royal Mail worker was driving during a postal strike; it is understood he was drafted in to drive a lorry after staff staged a 24-hour walk out over pay and job cuts.

Henry Charles Brown - known as Harry Brown - died after the crash at 6.30am on Thursday morning on the A379 Bridge Road in Exeter. He was travelling in a white Astra van. His passenger, who has not been named, suffered a fractured wrist.

Mr Brown, 56, from St Thomas, Exeter, had a wife and five children.

Royal Mail has confirmed that Mr Edmonds was not employed as a lorry driver.

A spokesman, offering his condolences to the dead man's family, said: "Anyone required to drive Royal Mail vehicles is required to have the appropriate training.

"This particular person had a lot of experience driving HGVs. He wasn't doing this at the present time but everyone involved in driving is checked."

A spokesman for the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which led the industrial action, said: "This is an appalling tragedy. Sadly it demonstrates the extreme measures the Royal Mail is taking to mitigate the effects of the strike instead of talking about it."

Phil Chadwick, secretary of the Western Counties branch of the CWU, said: "This is a tragic, tragic accident. It makes you feel that if anything we should now all get together and get this industrial dispute all sorted out.

"This should be a wake-up call."

Royal Mail had stressed beforehand that deliveries in Exeter would go ahead despite the strike.

The CWU said around 90 per cent of the 3,500 Royal Mail staff in Devon went on strike, in protest over pay and job losses, although the employers claimed 80 per cent of staff were at work as normal.

The 24-hour walkout was one of a series of stoppages planned for the next fortnight in a bitter dispute over pay and conditions.

The union has rejected a 2.5 per cent pay increase and warned that Royal Mail's modernisation plans will lead to the loss of 40,000 jobs.

During the industrial action by Royal Mail staff from July 30 until August 8 payments to a small minority of customers will be affected. The vast majority have their payments made directly into a bank or building society account. These payments will not be affected. Customers paid by cheque will not receive their payment through the post to their home address during the dispute. Instead, cheques will be sent by courier to the Post Office nearest to their home address.