More than 110,000 English Royal Mail staff will go on strike for 48 hours near the end of October to protest low pay and pension reforms, a workers’ union announced Thursday.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced that the 110,000 workers will walk out on Oct. 19 for 48 hours after nearly 90 percent of industry workers voted in favor of the strike, the BBC reported Thursday. Royal Mail will do everything in its power to prevent the strike, however, including applying for a High Court injunction against the strikers, according to Sky News.
“We are determined to take whatever steps are necessary to deliver an agreement that will protect and enhance our member’s terms and conditions and improve the range of services on offer to customers,” CWU spokesman Dave Ward said.
More than 73 percent of CWU members voted in the referendum on moving forward with the strike. The UK’s recently passed Trade Union Act requires that unions must have at least 50 percent participation in order to move forward with the result of a vote.
With an 89.1 percent vote in favor of the strike, it is likely that the vast majority of CWU’s 110,000 members will participate. Similar workers’ protests in France have been stymied recently by organizations offering workers fabulous overtime pay to incentivize staying on during the strikes.
CWU’s decision comes after 18 months of negotiations over pensions and pay.
“Royal Mail Group management have clearly moved away from the spirit and intent of our agreements and the empty promises of privatisation, and have suffered a huge vote of no confidence from their employees and CWU members as a consequence,” CWU spokesman Terry Pullinger said.
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