4,000 UK post office workers to strike

About 4,000 workers in 373 Britain’s biggest post offices are to stage their ninth strike since Easter in a long-running battle against British government’s plans to close branches.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) in hundreds of Crown Post Offices will walkout on Monday, July 29 in a bid to pressure the government to rethink its plans to close or franchise 76 Crown offices, the larger branches usually based in high streets.
The Union announced the closures will put as many as 1,500 jobs at risk and will reduce customer service.
CWU national official Andy Furey said: “Tens of thousands of customers have signed petitions against closures and a dozen political bodies – including the Scottish parliament, Greater London Authority and local councils – have passed motions against the company’s proposals. In fact we can’t find anyone who is in favor of them.”
Crown Post Offices constitute only 3 percent of the mail network of 11,800 branches across Britain, but handle 20 percent of all transactions and 40 percent of financial services sales.
The Post Office is a state-owned company, which receives £1.3 billion of taxpayer subsidy. The British government, however, is aiming to privatize the company before the end of the year.