Thousands of Post Office staff will stage a 24-hour strike next week as part of a dispute over branch closures, jobs and pensions.
The Communication Workers Union, which claimed the Post Office was now at “crisis point”, said its members will take action on 15 September following the vote for industrial action last month.
The government-owned service plans to transfer about 60 of its 300 larger outlets to the private sector, which along with other cost-cutting proposals, will lead to the loss of around 2,000 of its 6,600-strong workforce in crown branches, back-office functions and its cash handling business. In a ballot in August, 83% of members who voted were backed strike action.
The strike vote applies to crown branches, which are directly managed by the Post Office but represent only 300 of the 11,600 branches in the UK. The majority of Post Office branches are operated by independent retailers. The Post Office said that it will work to “minimise any disruption to customers in the 300 crown branches”. It added that while the Post Office’s financial position was improving, it remained loss-making.
Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said: “The Post Office is relentlessly pursuing a programme of cuts that will mean a further 2,000 job losses, staff being left tens of thousands of pounds worse off in retirement and the privatisation of its flagship branches. We are making a simple demand. The government needs to pause the cuts, convene a summit of key stakeholders in the industry and work out a strategy that gives employees and the public confidence that the Post Office has a future.”
Kevin Gilliland, Post Office network and sales director, said: “We are making steady progress to modernise the UK’s biggest retail network. These changes are needed to make our services better for customers and ensure that Post Office branches thrive at the heart of communities for future generations.”
