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| Royal Mail strikes could start next month as union announces ballot | Royal Mail strikes could start next month as union announces ballot |
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| Royal Mail faces the threat of days of paralysing strikes from 23 October after the postal union officially served notice of its intention to ballot 115,000 postmen and women for strike action. | Royal Mail faces the threat of days of paralysing strikes from 23 October after the postal union officially served notice of its intention to ballot 115,000 postmen and women for strike action. |
| The strikes, described as "certain" by which Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), could come on the day the government pushes through the controversial £3bn privatisation of the 497-year-old postal service. The government has promised that the flotation of at least half of Royal Mail will take place before the end of October. | |
| Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the CWU, said: "The government's privatisation agenda has destabilised everything. Postal workers are rightly concerned about their future so we want a legally-binding agreement on protections for jobs, terms and conditions – regardless of who owns the company. | |
| "We don't want a race to the bottom in the postal industry where companies compete on poverty pay, few employment rights and poor services simply to maximise payouts to wealthy shareholders. Without an agreement, strikes are inevitable." | "We don't want a race to the bottom in the postal industry where companies compete on poverty pay, few employment rights and poor services simply to maximise payouts to wealthy shareholders. Without an agreement, strikes are inevitable." |
| Ward said he hoped the strike ballot, announced on Friday, would "focus the minds of Royal Mail" and bring together a legally binding deal to protect postal workers' rights. | Ward said he hoped the strike ballot, announced on Friday, would "focus the minds of Royal Mail" and bring together a legally binding deal to protect postal workers' rights. |
| The ballot is not officially against privatisation, but over pay, pensions and the impact of privatisation on conditions and job security. | The ballot is not officially against privatisation, but over pay, pensions and the impact of privatisation on conditions and job security. |
| However, the union said 96% of Royal Mail staff opposed the sell-off, which "not even Thatcher dared do", even though 10% of the shares, worth up to £2,000 each, have been set aside as free awards for Royal Mail workers. | However, the union said 96% of Royal Mail staff opposed the sell-off, which "not even Thatcher dared do", even though 10% of the shares, worth up to £2,000 each, have been set aside as free awards for Royal Mail workers. |
| Michael Fallon, the business minister in charge of the privatisation, has attacked the union for pressing ahead with strike action when staff have been offered a 8.6% pay rise over three years. "Teachers and nurses are only getting 1%," he said. | Michael Fallon, the business minister in charge of the privatisation, has attacked the union for pressing ahead with strike action when staff have been offered a 8.6% pay rise over three years. "Teachers and nurses are only getting 1%," he said. |
| The union dismissed the pay offer as a "misleading and unacceptable" sweetener designed to win over support for the privatisation. | The union dismissed the pay offer as a "misleading and unacceptable" sweetener designed to win over support for the privatisation. |
| Royal Mail said it was "very disappointed" that the CWU is pushing ahead with the strike ballot. The company said an Ipsos Mori survey it commissioned found that 78% of Britons think the company's pay offer was fair or very fair, and 72% of the 1,468 people polled said they thought the union should accept the offer and call off the strike. | |
| Ballot papers will be sent out to 115,000 CWU postal workers on 27 September, with the results announced on 16 October. If members vote in favour of a strike, the earliest date possible would be 23 October. It would be the first nationwide strike since 2009. | Ballot papers will be sent out to 115,000 CWU postal workers on 27 September, with the results announced on 16 October. If members vote in favour of a strike, the earliest date possible would be 23 October. It would be the first nationwide strike since 2009. |
| A union source said strikes would be planned to cause maximum disruption, with drivers, sorting office workers and delivery staff taking action on consecutive days causing a week of nationwide chaos. | A union source said strikes would be planned to cause maximum disruption, with drivers, sorting office workers and delivery staff taking action on consecutive days causing a week of nationwide chaos. |
| Royal Mail warned potential investors that it expects the union to take industrial action next month but said it has "contingency plans in place and will also consider its legal options". | Royal Mail warned potential investors that it expects the union to take industrial action next month but said it has "contingency plans in place and will also consider its legal options". |
| Meanwhile, Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland, has said he would renationalise Royal Mail in an independent Scotland. | |
| Salmond said that if he won a yes vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum he would bring the service back into public ownership. | |
| John Swinney, the Scottish National party's finance secretary, called on Labour on Friday to match its pledge to renationalise Royal Mail. | |
| "What the opposition would be better doing, especially the Labour party, would be making the same commitment that we've given they they would take the assets back into public ownership," he told BBC Radio Scotland. "I think that would kill the privatisation process stone dead." | |
| Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, has said Labour will not renationalise the Royal Mail as it would be "completely irresponsible" and "like writing a blank cheque". | |
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