Post Office workers at Crown branches go on strike over pay dispute
Post Office workers have gone on strike in a dispute over pay.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) walked out on Saturday. The strike will affect Crown post offices – larger branches often sited on high streets.
It is the second bout of industrial action since the dispute flared and the union is not ruling out further strikes.
The CWU said all 114 Crown post offices would close on Saturday, warning that the supply-chain strike means there will be no cash collections or deliveries to post offices on Monday.
The union said Post Office management had insisted on a pay freeze for 2021-22 and a “marginally improved” pay offer for 2022.
The CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey said: “Our members worked hard to deliver an excellent annual profit for the company – affordability isn’t management’s problem here. Frankly, their degrading excuse for an offer has only hardened members, who won’t tolerate a collapse in their living standards.
“We thank the public for their understanding and support, and we urge the Post Office to get round the table and thrash out a real settlement that treats key-worker heroes with the respect they deserve.”
About 3,500 union members are involved in the dispute.
A Post Office spokesperson said: “We want to assure our customers that the vast majority of our branches are unaffected by CWU strike action on Saturday. There are 114 branches, typically in city centres, that are directly managed by the Post Office.
“Over two-thirds would normally only be open between 9am and 12.30pm on a Saturday. We apologise to any customers who are inconvenienced by a closure.”
The union said the pay offer was a wage freeze from April 2021 and a 2.5% increase and £500 lump sum from April this year.
Union members in
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