Oldham dodges postal strike

POSTAL deliveries and collections in Oldham will remain unaffected by a national postal strike on Friday.

Thousands of postal workers across the UK will walk out for 24 hours in a worsening row over jobs, pay and services.

Staff in Oldham will not be taking part and a spokeswoman for Royal Mail said the borough would remain unaffected by the strikes.

But strike action in Oldham could be looming next month.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have asked for a ballot for industrial action, which could mean walkouts in four weeks’ time.

More than 12,000 CWU members in cities including London, Edinburgh, Bristol and Plymouth will walk out on Friday.

The union has accused Royal Mail of cutting the pay and jobs of postal workers without agreement and of reducing services.

Ted Stead, secretary of the CWU Oldham branch, said: “London staff are very angry and they asked for strike action before we did.

“Royal Mail are refusing to talk to us and they’re not developing better services and not providing value for money.

“They are driven by cost-cutting and budgets. I hope we don’t get to strike action, it’s the last thing we want to do.

“But I’m absolutely positive that members will vote to strike, the mood they are in at the moment.”

Union members in Oldham have been asked to take part in an unofficial work-to-rule during Friday’s national day of action.

Mr Stead added: “All we are asking our members to do is to come in when they should, take breaks when they should and work safely.”

Royal Mail said that more than 90 per cent of staff would still be delivering mail to their customers with 90 per cent of offices not affected by the planned strikes.