Home » UK Employment news » Royal Mail slams union over ‘unacceptable behaviour’ by strikers

Royal Mail slams union over ‘unacceptable behaviour’ by strikers

By Nagasunder in UK Employment news, posted December 2, 2022

Royal Mail has clashed with union bosses over "wholly unacceptable behaviour" by strikers on the picket line.

Workers have carried out a series of strikes in the long-running dispute over jobs, pay, and conditions.

The company claimed in a letter to Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), that there has been a pattern of "wholly unacceptable behaviour" on picket lines across the country.

The union strongly denied the allegations, claiming that picketing has been peaceful since the beginning of the strikes.

Over the four months of the CWU's strike, more than 100 allegations of incidents including violence and harassment were reported to Royal Mail, with 35 cases reported to the police.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “This behaviour has no place in any civilised workplace. The direct intervention of the CWU’s general secretary is needed to end this culture of intimidation on the picket line, including many incidents by CWU representatives.

“More than 10,000 frontline employees chose to work on each of the last two days of strike action, and with numbers increasing with each passing day of industrial action, they should feel confident that they can do so safely and without the risk of harm. We have zero tolerance for bullying or harassment.

“We will continue to support any employee who works on a strike day. They can be assured that we will investigate every incident and allegation and take swift action to discipline the individuals involved appropriately.”

In Scotland, Northern Ireland, the West Midlands, Lancashire, London, Kent, Norfolk, Devon & Cornwall, and Gwent, among other places, Royal Mail claimed

A CWU spokesperson said: “These allegations are as embarrassing as they are untrue. For a chief executive who spends his every waking hour, intimidating, gaslighting and mocking our members online, to have the front to target others for wholly legal and friendly picketing is beyond a joke.

“Prior to every round of strike action, the union has reminded members to turn out in record numbers whilst being peaceful and respectful. Our members and reps have done us proud.

“Our members want to go back to work and save Christmas for 32 million households in the UK but they will not bow down to a culture of intimidation.”

More strikes are planned in the coming weeks, including on Christmas Eve.

Source: AOL

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