Angry postal staff may strike
for jobs
March 26, 2002
Post Office workers last night threatened to strike if their jobs are sacrificed to stem huge losses.
More than 80 job cuts in the North-East and Cumbria were announced by Post Office parent company Consignia as part of 15,000 nationally, but angry staff fear it is just the start of a series to counter losses of £1.5m a day.
Unions said they did not want to inconvenience the public but would have no alternative if Consignia tried to enforce compulsory redundancies - which the company did not rule out.
Some 79 jobs will be lost between the Parcelforce depot in Boldon, South Tyneside, closing in July, and Team Valley depot in Gateshead. Five jobs will go at Carlisle.
There is uncertainty over the rest of Consignia, which refused to discuss plans for Royal Mail and Post Office Counters. The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) last night called on the Government to sanction a 1p rise in a first class stamp, saying that would help save jobs.
CWU North-East regional secretary Brian Cassidy said: ‘If they try to force any compulsory redundancies on us, we will take action.’
Roger Lyons, general secretary of Amicus, which represents Post Office managers, said: ‘Consignia has taken a profitable company and with a flawed business strategy has signed the death warrants for thousands of jobs.’
The company plans to transfer its parcel service to Royal Mail. Consignia expects to save £460m.
Consignia chairman Allan Leighton, who was yesterday confirmed in his two-day-a-week job, described the cuts as ‘common sense re-engineering’ and said the firm was in a ‘perilous position’.
March 25, 2002
Consignia, the re-branded Post Office, is set to announce it will cut up to 40,000 jobs over the next three years, the BBC has learned.
The redundancies account for almost a fifth of the former Post Office's workforce and are far in excess of previous predictions that around 12,000 jobs would go.
Consignia is also likely to close more than 3,000 town post offices and change its name back to the Royal Mail as part of a major shake-up aimed at cutting costs and ensuring the company's survival.
Unions have warned Consignia there could be strikes if it uses compulsory redundancies to make the cuts.
The company hopes to save £1.2bn a year through the cuts, which come as the market for postal deliveries is opened up to competition in a three-stage process starting this year.
Most of the job losses would be in its Parcel Force division - which is losing £15m a month.
Other positions are expected to go in the Post Office's administration and central management, with cuts anticipated at a later date in the Royal Mail.
Managers hope to limit compulsory redundancies by offering one of the most generous severance packages ever from a state-owned company.
A Consignia spokeswoman confirmed that an announcement on its future would be made ‘shortly’.
Commenting on the possible closure of 3,000 urban post offices a spokesman for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the government is ‘committed to the maintenance of the network of post offices’.
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