Mail staff step up strike action
HUNDREDS of Teesside postal workers were out on strike today as the bitter row over pay, jobs and working conditions continued.
Delivery staff at offices in Middlesbrough, Stockton, Hartlepool, Redcar, Skelton, Guisborough, South Bank and Coulby Newham were taking part in the action - which involves up to 78,000 union members across the UK today.
The walk-out is the second day of strike action.
Around 42,000 mail centre staff and network drivers took action yesterday - which involved process and distribution staff at Middlesbrough’s Cannon Park site.
But a fresh wave of action is set to be held next week in an escalation of the bitter Royal Mail dispute.
The Communication Workers Union has served notice of further walk-outs starting next Thursday.
Details of how long next week’s strikes will last - and which group of workers will be involved - were expected to be announced today.
The union has offered “unconditional” talks at the conciliation service Acas in a bid to break the deadlocked row over jobs, pay and modernisation.
Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s managing director, said it was “appalling but sadly not surprising” that more strikes had been called.
The new stoppages will cause further disruption to mail deliveries, which are already facing big delays in the aftermath of this week’s action.
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