Posties in Renfrewshire are downing their satchels and switching off the engines of their vans this week as they walk out on strike over pay.
The strike will involve 115,000 postal workers across the UK.
Deliveries will be affected tomorrow and on Friday, when the posties strike again.
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A picket line will be in operation outside the Royal Mail depot on Underwood Road for both days of the strike.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the postal workers, balloted members on strike action over a two per cent pay rise, which Royal Mail bosses tried to impose without consulting the union. The decision to strike came after a ballot which saw members vote by 97.6 per cent for the industrial action on a 77 per cent turnout.
Royal Mail say the pay offer is 5.5 per cent, something the CWU dispute, pointing out that 1.5 per cent of that is contingent on them “agreeing changes which would rip up their terms and conditions”.
The final portion would be made up of a one-off £500 bonus payment due at some point in 2023.
The CWU stresses that the pay offer is the imposition of a two per cent rise and nothing else.
It will be the third day of action from posties this summer following previous strike days on Friday, August 26 and Wednesday, August 31.
Craig Anderson, CWU Scotland Secretary, said the company is refusing to budge over its stance and end the impasse.
He said: “There's been no significant, constructive discussions with the company at this stage.
“We are continuing to engage with a company with regards to the two per cent pay offer. But as I see it at this stage, there's been nothing constructive or anything that has come out of any discussions that we can go back and speak to our members about.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s strike action will cause.
“We remain ready to talk with the CWU to try and avert damaging industrial action and prevent significant inconvenience for customers.
“But any talks must be about both change and pay.”
The company claims to be losing £1 million a day, but this comes into sharp relief when considered against the news that on September 1, just a day following the last strike, the company handed £2 million to shareholders. And the company reported making record profits of £758m just a few months ago in their annual accounts for the year ending March 27, 2022.
A Communication Workers Union spokesperson said: “A day after Royal Mail workers took strike action against savage real-terms pay cuts, those enforcing that pay cut – who have been pleading poverty in the media – award themselves shares worth over £2 million.
“There is not a polite word to summarise what unforgivable greed this represents, but it is a perfect example of the moral sickness at the heart of British business today.”
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