Royal Mail seeks injunction from High Court

With a second stage of strike action due to start on Monday, Royal Mail turn to the High Court.

Friday, 12, Oct 2007 12:00

The Royal Mail has sought an injunction from the High Court today in an effort to prevent further industrial action by postal workers due to start on Monday.

The Royal Mail claims an irregularity in the way the strike notification was issued, makes the proposed action illegal.

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has instructed its solicitors to defend the postal workers who have refused to work this week following a dispute over shift changes.

Although union leaders are currently locked in negotiations with their employer, the wildcat walkouts in Liverpool and east London continued yesterday, with a second series of 24-hour strikes scheduled to begin after the weekend.

Numbers doubled yesterday, as 4,000 postal workers participated in the unofficial action outside 30 Royal Mail depots.

The CWU have blamed the walk-outs on "provocation from Royal Mail managers".

Mark Walsh, a CWU official, said: "The staff came into work and were told that their starting hours had been changed and they would not be paid for some time and they would be expected to stay later at the end of the day.

"These changes had been imposed on the staff without their agreement and they decided of their own accord not to go to work."

Royal Mail maintains the changes to working times coincide with new European Union legislation, due to come into force in January.

The postal service has experienced considerable disruption as a result of the walkout which began on Wednesday this week and will likely take some time to recover.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Royal Mail is extremely concerned at the unlawful strike action still taking place at a handful of sites but is pleased that 97 per cent of our people are back at work."

With an estimated backlog of 80 million items, Royal Mail has warned customers to expect "continued delays".

Yesterday, business secretary John Hutton said the offer to workers was a "decent and fair one".

But, the Conservatives jumped into the debate, accusing the government of lacking the "will and direction" to end the postal strike.

Speaking in the Commons, the shadow business secretary Alan Duncan asked: "Where is the leadership from this government and where is the desire to make Britain work better?

"Put simply there is no urgency in trying to bring the postal strike to an end."

He stressed the devastating effect the strike was having on thousands of companies across the country, and argued: "Business needs ministers who will take a lead, not ministers who baulk at making the big decisions."

The dispute reflects a wider pattern of concern over public sector working conditions.

Earlier this summer, 24,000 prison officers staged a nationwide walkout over pay disagreements, but were quickly forced back to work after justice secretary Jack Straw intervened and successfully acquired an injunction.