A postman carries bags of mail into Blackfriars Crown Court, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday September 16, 2013. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
The threat of a national strike by postal workers over the Government’s controversial plans to privatise the Royal Mail has come a step closer with formal notice of an industrial action ballot.
The Communication Workers Union served formal legal notice to the company of its intention to ballot its members for action.
Ballot papers will go out on September 27, with the result to be announced on October 16. If there is a yes vote, the earliest that strike action could take place would be October 23.
It is the first national strike ballot in Royal Mail since 2009 and will affect 115,000 workers in Royal Mail and Parcelforce but not the Post Office, which is a separate company.
The dispute is over pay, pensions and the impact of privatisation on job security, terms and conditions.
