Royal Mail managers ramp up industrial action in pay dispute

Nearly 5,000 Royal Mail managers are ramping up industrial action in their long-running pay dispute, as bosses dig in their heels over making an improved offer.

Postal deliveries to 27 million homes across the UK will eventually face disruption as 4,800 managers start an overtime ban from 05.00 Wednesday 18 May 2016. This builds on from the work to rule which began on 4 May 2016.

Unite officer for Royal Mail managers, Brian Scott, said: “We had talks on Tuesday (10 May 2016) with the Royal Mail management, but no progress was made – they appear to have dug their heels in over making an improved pay offer.”

The managers, members of Unite, the country’s largest union, voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, after rejecting the ‘paltry’ 1.3 per cent pay offer for the year starting September 2015.

Brian Scott added: “The lack of positive response from the company has given our members no alternative but to introduce this overtime ban.

“The work to rule introduced on 4 May 2016 has been well supported by Unite members and I expect that the overtime ban will receive similar strong support.

“Many Royal Mail managers do not get paid overtime, but those that do are relied on to ensure that the operation, including the delivery of mail to households and companies, is achieved.

“The industrial action will have an increasingly detrimental impact on deliveries to 27 million homes across the UK.

“Unite is willing to sit down with the company to find a solution, but it needs to acknowledge and recognise the valuable contribution that Unite members make to the success of the business which the current pay offer does not reflect.

“Should the company continue to adopt this negative approach, we cannot rule out full strike action.”

Unite has said that the pay dispute is part of a much wider set of problems engulfing the now privately-owned Royal Mail, which include the possible failure to meet its Universal Service Obligation (USO) to deliver letters six days-a-week to the 27 million addresses; massive cost-cutting and redundancies.