Trouble looms for Royal Mail as postal workers vote for national strike action.

Royal Mail workers have voted overwhelmingly for strike action as the dispute over modernisation and pay continues to spiral.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) opened a ballot for its 121,000 members in Royal Mail over plans for a national strike on 17 September, and reported today (8 October) that 76% of postal workers had voted in favour.

Postal workers across the country have been holding a series of strikes from delivery offices to distribution centres and delivery drivers. 

Dave Ward, CWU Deputy General Secretary, labelled the news as a “huge vote of no confidence”. He went on to say: “The company has tried to make out that problems only exist in some local offices, but postal workers across the UK have now spoken and they say no to Royal Mail’s arrogance.

“We need a national agreement which secures a fair deal on modernisation and reward for the efforts of postal workers in transforming the business. We want reassurances on job security, covering both redundancies and full-time part-time ratios.”

The CWU argues that the Royal Mail has reneged on its promise of modernisation, and in fact continue to cut costs and run down services. However, Royal Mail disputes this and claims it has already completed the major efficiency changes planned for 2009.

Royal Mail’s Mark Higson apologised to customers about the disruption which has been caused by the ongoing strike action: “Every letter is important to us and we apologise unreservedly for the disruption and inconvenience our customers have suffered as a result of the CWU’s strikes.”

Mr Higson once again urged the union to honour its commitment to a no-strike period. He said: “It is clearly reprehensible for the union to continue to hold strikes when Royal Mail is not planning any further efficiency changes for the rest of the 2009 calendar year and the priority facing everyone in Royal Mail is to deliver the best possible service to customers in the run up to Christmas.

“We have held more than 70 meetings with the CWU over the last few months and we call on them to stop the strikes, get back round the table and talk.”

According to reports, Amazon, the Royal Mail’s second largest customer, has withdrawn its contract with the delivery service to deliver parcels weighing more than 500 grams, amid concerns from customers over non-delivery. It has apparently moved its contract to Home Delivery Network, which already delivers for Tesco and Argos.

As Christmas inches closer, the busiest period for many retailers, a fear over impending strike action will do little to encourage companies to affirm their trust in Royal Mail.

No dates have been set for the national action, but strike action does require a seven-day notice period after receiving the result today.

If you have been disrupted by the recent strike action or would like to make a comment about this latest news you can do so by completing the form below.