Rolling strikes threat at Royal Mail as union prepares to meet with bosses
ROYAL MAIL faces being hit with a series of rolling strikes which could start as early as next week, as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) heads into talks with the postal service today.
Dave Ward, the chief negotiator for the CWU is weighing up the pros and cons of the drastic move, which would leave an estimated backlog of 100m undelivered letters, and will call for an independent investigation into working conditions at Royal Mail.
Last week, about 61,000 of over 140,000 UK postal workers voted to strike in a dispute over modernisation and pay cuts, which will lead to thousands of job losses.
The possibility of ten days of rolling strikes is being debated, as is a combination of one-day national walkouts, followed by three-day rolling strikes.
But the strikes are forcing those who rely on so-called “snail mail” to turn to private companies for their post.
Private delivery groups DHLand UKMail have seen demand more than double in recent months.