Midlands postal services hit by series of walk-outs

Sep 28 2009 by Graeme Brown, Birmingham Mail

POSTAL services in the West Midlands will be hit hard again with two days of strike action beginning today as the potential for a nationwide strike looms nearer.

Delivery workers in Coventry and North Staffordshire walked out for 24 hours from 6am today, while HGV drivers in Birmingham will begin a day-long strike from 4am tomorrow in a bitter row over changes to working practice.

Lee Barron, Midlands regional secretary for the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said: “This all relates to managerial changes. The jobs our members are performing have been changed – things like attendance patterns and working days – without consultation.

“We have got people having to do compulsory work on a Saturday from 11am to 7pm without agreements in place to do that. We are up for change but we can’t have that change imposed upon us like that.”

A spokesman for Royal Mail confirmed today’s strike action in Coventry, Leamington Spa and Burslem would affect the collection and delivery of mail in the CV1-8, CV31-33 and ST6 postcode areas. The strike in Birmingham tomorrow will not affect the delivery or collection of mail to customers, he said, with contingency arrangements in place.