The Communication Workers Union, which represents 160,000 Royal Mail postal workers in Great Britain, said yesterday that its London members would stage a 24-hour strike Oct. 16 over a dispute with Royal Mail management about allowances for postal workers living in London.
A 24-hour CWU strike last week by London postal workers cost Royal Mail an estimated $16 million (U.S.) and took five days to clear the backlog.
The Oct. 16 action will coincide with a strike by local government workers represented by UNISON – Britain's biggest trade union, with members in the public services and essential utilities — over pay. However, the two events are not linked.
“We have chosen the same day as the council workers' strike to raise the issue of low pay across the public sector,” CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said.
The dispute is over a pay allowance for workers in the city. Ward said that Royal Mail had not responded to union demands for talks on the issue.
