Forums Forums National News Liverpool postmen to take strike

POSTAL workers will stage a one-day strike next Friday in a row over sorting centre closures.

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) apologised to the public for the inconvenience its action will cause in the run-up to Christmas, but said the strike was unavoidable.

CWU national leaders met Royal Mail officials last week, but the talks failed to persuade the company to pull back from its decision to close five of the north west’s seven sorting centres, including Liverpool’s Copperas Hill depot.

Work from Liverpool will be transferred to a Warrington site in 2010, losing 600 sorting jobs in the city and leaving it as the only major centre without its own sorting office.

Liverpool CWU branch secretary Mark Walsh said the union had given Royal Mail notice in March this year that it could resort to a ballot to fight for the future of a Liverpool sorting centre.

He said: “The decision taken by Royal Mail fails to recognise the real concern members have for their livelihoods. The impact on local economies will also be devastating, possibly up to £25m in Liverpool alone.”

He added: “Regrettably, it was not until the CWU were forced to ballot its members that Royal Mail agreed to meet the union nationally.

“In fact, the union was left with no alternative as some managers attempted to move the work out of some of the offices listed for closure before Christmas.”

Regional CWU secretary Carl Webb said: “It is this aggressive action that has led to the unfortunate timing of the action.

“We sincerely apologise for it and would have preferred for it not to have happened. The industrial action could still be avoided if Royal Mail abandoned their policy of imposition and entered into meaningful negotiations.”

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “We have not been notified of proposed strike action in Liverpool. We would urge all our people to continue delivering the festive postbag and give our customers the service they want and expect.”

lol, thought it wouldnt be long b4 they jumped on the band waggon round this time for one reason or the other.

Sack the lot of them I say, there are plenty jobless right now who will happily take their jobs, any other time but Christmas.

Not being funny but they seem to spend more time on strike than they do working anyway.

totally agree bud

So this has nothing to do with them being asked to walk faster? lol

spot on

these fooking idiots do this EVERY year, pisses me off, just sack em, i`m sure theres plenty of polish that are hard workers who would do this job, they are more reliable too.

question is would they be prepared to walk at 4 mph???

the post at the moment is a fooking joke..things take forever..sack the miserable moaning gits....

another thing, royal mail seem to be employing anybody lately

With all the thefts of mail and postmen being caught with lost mail, they need to have some sort of stricter interviews/rules.

I think they should have stringent fitness rules as well. If you cannot walk at 4mph for the length of an average street with a large sack of post on your back - you won't get accepted. It'd be like the 'bleep test' for posties!

another thing! Put the right post through the right door!!!!

we recieved a letter for a house in another street the other day???

Wheres the V5 for my MX5 too? has that been posted elsewhere???

I think it's time for pitch forks and torches Ste - let's run them all out of town! Would probably be quicker to collect your post from some central location!

burn in hell postie's, I hope they get cold this winter, be greatful you've got work.....nobends

Hit the nail right on the head!!!

Good grief, what a response to people trying to retain jobs on Merseyside. Doesn't anyone get it? Liverpool is our city whether that suits some or not and to have no main sorting office is a disgrace.

I would like whomever said they strike at this time every year to back that up with facts please. This is totally untrue. They are not always out on strike and if you had any knowledge of the way Liverpool postmen have been treated over the years you would understand their anger.

As usual misinformed and believing the propaganda of press and Royal Mail bosses. It is one day for gods sake and you should be glad someone is trying to stop job losses that we need desperately.

Anyone who thinks the job is easy wants to give it a go. What do you think they do, turn up at nine in the morning and are given a bike and a bag of letters to deliver? You try getting up at five or earlier six days a week in all weathers. You get attacked by dogs. You get robbed at knife point by drug crazed madmen. You take all kinds of insults because the DSS hasn't sent some lazy barstard giro. You get worked into the ground with bad backs, knees etc and get discarded.

Honestly some want to engage brain before commenting or moaning just because they might miss getting a bit of junk mail for one day.