17 Oct “Essentially it’s bullying” says CWU boss Andy Furey in wake of redundancy announcement and warns Christmas strikes are being planned too
ROYAL Mail is acting in a “cynical and contrived” way, a leading union boss has claimed.
Andy Furey from the Communication Workers Union hit out after it was announced that Royal Mail will consult on up to 6,000 redundancies.
He accused the CWU of “essentially bullying” workers and warned strikes in the run up to Christmas may now take place, a move which would create chaos within festive postal delivery plans.
Appearing on GB News, he said: “‘Clearly, this is a cynical, calculated and contrived position by Royal Mail. It’s designed to threaten our members, essentially it’s bullying. Our members are exceptionally angry about it and it hasn’t had the desired effect that Royal Mail was looking for. I think they were looking to frighten our members not to take strike action again in the future. It’s actually incensed them and the feedback we’re getting is that it’s actually galvanized them to be more determined than ever before.”
Royal Mail’s CEO, Simon Thompson, claims the company has lost £290m in the first half of the year with each strike day weakening the company’s financial situation.
But Andy added: “My message to Simon Thompson is that we need to negotiate an agreement. We met with Simon yesterday. We’re due to meet with him again on Monday afternoon. The CW is committed to reaching an agreement. We believe that change can be achieved by negotiation. But the reality is, Royal Mail declared record profits only in May this year, and in January paid out 400 million pounds to shareholders, and Simon Thompson’s awarded himself many millions in bonuses and such like shares. This is a successful company. It has some problems, but these problems we can address through negotiation.”
“Our aim is to reach an agreement first and foremost, but if we can’t do that, then the programme of strikes that we’ve announced throughout October and November will continue. Something like 15 strikes are due to take place. We will consider further action in the lead-up to Christmas as well. My message to that Royal Mail is to come to the bargaining table and negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement.
“First and foremost, the public thinks that the Postal Service is magnificent. Our vendors, as key workers, delivered throughout the whole of the pandemic and kept the country connected, and we delivered six days a week to 32 million addresses.
“Royal Mail has a unique offer, and it needs to be leveraging that unique offer and develop new products and services and new growth. The CWU has a vision and agenda to build Royal Mail.”
