UK post office staff to go on strike

Thousands of post office staffs in Britain will take industrial action on Friday to protest their payments as well as plans to close or franchise 76 post offices.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which has organized the strike in around 373 crown post offices, says the move risks over 800 jobs for a dedicated staff who have not received a pay rise since April 2011.

“Our post office members are standing up against destructive plans which would slash 20 percent of the crown network and are simply asking for fair treatment and job security,” CWU’s deputy general secretary Dave Ward said.

“The Post Office’s plans are short-sighted and would rob the network of the most productive offices while simultaneously putting hundreds of jobs at risk and potentially damaging local economies,” he added.

CWU is also angry at the Post Office Ltd move to “brine staff” with lump sum payments if they sign up to the plans that will lead to the closures.

CWU said the strike has been approved by 88 percent of its members on a 75 percent turnout and 4,000 personnel at post offices handling four million visits every week are expected to stop working.