British postal workers, train station staff vote to strike

LONDON (Reuters) – British postal workers and train station staff have voted in favour of strike action, their trade unions said on Wednesday, as workers across the economy grapple with employers as surging inflation bites.

The Unite union said around 2,400 managers across 1,000 Royal Mail delivery offices had voted to strike in a dispute over job cuts, pay and working conditions, and said it would announce strike dates in the coming days.

“Our members have had enough,” Mike Eatwell, Unite national officer with responsibility for the Royal Mail postal group, said in a statement.

“Senior management at Royal Mail has lost the support of their own managers and need to reflect carefully on their next steps. They need to come back to the negotiating table with a set of constructive proposals, otherwise strike action will go ahead causing chaos to letter and parcel deliveries across the UK.”

Another union representing staff at Royal Mail are also balloting their members for action.

Britain faces a summer of disruption as workers struggling with the rising cost of living resort to strike action in disputes over pay and conditions.

Earlier this month Britain’s rail network was brought to a near standstill by its biggest strike in 30 years. Further disruption on the railways is set to follow.

The TSSA union said on Wednesday its members in train station roles at Avanti West Coast, which operates passenger services including from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, had voted overwhelmingly for strike action.

“The ballot result at Avanti is only the beginning. Our union is balloting members across almost another dozen train companies and Network Rail,” TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes said. “If they had any sense they would come to the table and sort this out, so we have a fair settlement for workers.”

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Leslie Adler)