POSTIES were on strike again in York today - and further action has been announced for the end of the month and the beginning of October.

The Communication Workers Union – which represents Royal Mail Group workers – says its members will continue national strike action for pay both today and tomorrow. 

But it has also served notice on Royal Mail Group for more strike action on Friday September 30 and Saturday October 1.

It said the current action was over pay but the later walk-outs were in opposition to new reforms which it claimed were an attempt to 'casualise' the company.

"These proposals would mean effectively turning 115,000 well-paid, secure jobs into gig economy style roles, with possible ‘reforms’ including reducing sick pay, delaying the arrival of mail to customers by up to 3 hours, ‘total flexibility’ in terms of working hours, mandatory Sunday working and other cuts to terms and conditions," it claimed.

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “We are still open for meaningful negotiations with the company, but the feeling does not appear to be mutual.

“I urge our members to stay strong and stand together, because we will win what we deserve.”

York posties mounting a picket line outside the Royal Mail's headquarters in Leeman Road today received plenty of support from passing motorists sounding their horns.

Asked why they were striking, one postman said: "We worked tirelessly through Covid. I was working seven days a week, 70 hour weeks, we were risking ourselves out there every day, working really hard. And on the back of that, there's £750 million profit,but the shareholders have helped themselves to £600 million of that ...and offered us  - imposed - a two per cent pay rise."

Asked about the inconvenience caused by the strike to the public, another trades unionist said: "I appreciate it does, but the short term inconvenience is hopefully outweighed by the long term benefits of maintaining the USO (universal service obligation), where we provide a service, whether you are rural or in towns or cities."

Royal Mail said it was 'really sorry' for the disruption that the strike action was likely to cause customers.

"We want to reassure you we will do everything we can to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as quickly as possible," it said.

"Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but they cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce. We will be doing what we can to keep services running, but customers should expect significant disruption."

A spokesperson also said that Royal Mail had to adapt old ways of working which were designed for letters, while it was now a parcels business, and the strikes were threatening the long-term job security of its postmen and women.