Royal Mail has said it is disappointed that the Communication Workers Union has announced it intends to call for a national strike ballot of its members.
The union’s policy forum this week voted to hold a strike ballot no later than September 2013.
The move follows the government’s announcement that it intends to float Royal Mail on the stock market.
The union is opposed to privatisation. Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “There hasn’t yet been a pay rise for staff this year despite healthy company profits of £403 million. But most importantly, we want protections for job security and terms and conditions and these are sadly lacking.”
If the ballot goes ahead it will include 115,000 postal workers in Royal Mail (excluding Parcelforce and the Post Office) and would be the first ballot for national strike action in Royal Mail since September 2009.
In a statement, Royal Mail said: “Talks are on-going between Royal Mail and the CWU and we are committed to seeking an agreement. Since 2011, Royal Mail has been in talks with the CWU to reach a new agreement following the Business Transformation Agreement 2010.”
It also pointed out that Parcelforce Worldwide employees are not included in the proposals being debated by the CWU.
