Strike boosts postal hopes
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by Karen Miles • Hopes of short-term postal work for private carriers were boosted this week as Royal Mail union leaders said there was little hope of averting strike action across the Capital.
The warning came as the Government admitted it has powers to suspend the Royal Mail's monopoly, which allows it to be the only operator that can collect and deliver a letter for less than £1. The Department of Trade and Industry says: "So far it's a hypothetical situation but in the event of a strike we will look at the situation and respond accordingly"
As CM went to press, Royal Mail management and Union of Communication Workers officials were in crisis talks—the UCW
backed by a 55% strike mandate.
The union was unwilling to specify whether action would take the form of one-day strikes, stoppages rotating between different sorting centres or an "all out'', indefinite dispute.
Any strike—whether the Government chooses to scrap the £1 monopoly or not--could offer rich pickings for private carriers. The Royal Mail's 21,000 staff in London, including 5,000 drivers, handle 3.5 million letters and packages a day.
Some carriers, including Britcloc and TNT, view the prospect of a strike with interest TNT chief executive Alan Jones said the threat of a strike was "yet another good reason why we should be granted a licence to run postal services".
The dispute is over Royal Mail compensation plans for workers involved in the closure of five sorting centres in London because of overcapacity The UCW says some staff could lose up to £70 a week through the changes although Royal Mail says it will be offering "fair compensation payments".