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Postal workers stage strike in support of colleague

11:19am Saturday 16th December 2006

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DOZENS of Royal Mail workers walked out of the firm's York depot in protest at the suspension of a van driver.

About 30 collection drivers and some other staff staged the wildcat strike at the firm's Leeman Road base, at about 3.10pm yesterday, to support their work-mate.

The three-hour stoppage caused disruption to parcel collections from post offices and Royal Mail's business customers.

But a spokeswoman for Royal Mail said no standard postal deliveries would be affected by the action, which only involved collection van drivers.

As darkness fell, rush-hour motorists crawled along Leeman Road and commuters rushed past, while the workers huddled together and tried to shelter from the rain.

Union leaders were involved in lengthy negotiations with mail bosses throughout the afternoon and agreed a deal to get the drivers back to work at about 6.15pm.

Paul Clays, regional secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, who was involved in the negotiations, said he hoped the walkout did not cause major disruption.

He said: "Hopefully, there will be no disruption to anyone's service over Christmas. After negotiations a satisfactory outcome was reached.

"People need to realise that no one wants to stand outside in the freezing cold rain on a Friday evening unless they have to.

"Nobody wants to go on strike, especially at this time of year. As well as delivering Christmas cards for everyone, we have to make sure our families can have presents and cards and to do that we need to earn some money."

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "There was a walkout for about three hours in the afternoon. They have returned to work, so matters have been resolved.

"There was a bit of an impact on collections and we have been liaising with our customers and encouraging them to bring parcels to the depot. It won't impact on our mail deliveries."

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Your Say YourYork Press

A postal worker, says...
12:58pm Sat 16 Dec 06

Yet again - the drivers walk out. They think they run the place.

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york business person, says...
2:37pm Sat 16 Dec 06

Post Office drivers say they want to make sure their families can have presents, but failing to collect sacks full of parcels from York businesses on the last day for despatching second class post for Christmas, has deprived lots of other families of the presents they were expecting.

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Fed up!, says...
4:13pm Sat 16 Dec 06

I know exactly what this strike was about due to a family member being part of it and it was extremely justified!

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Alf, says...
4:51pm Sat 16 Dec 06

PO management deserve everythingnthat happens. There's no smoke without fire and people don't walk out unless they think it is justified. You don't throw money away, more power to the Unions and the people! Look at the state of British industry without a strong union presence.

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postal worker, says...
6:04pm Sat 16 Dec 06

the union did exactly right by staging this walkout, as management think they can please themselves by suspending a work coleauge,we will not tollerate this.

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dave, says...
6:07pm Sat 16 Dec 06

york business person wrote:
Post Office drivers say they want to make sure their families can have presents, but failing to collect sacks full of parcels from York businesses on the last day for despatching second class post for Christmas, has deprived lots of other families of the presents they were expecting.
dont talk rubbish!! should of posted earier then,rather than last minute... idiot!!

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Mat, says...
9:12pm Sat 16 Dec 06

get back to work. If the reason for his suspension is so heinous, tell us. otherwise its just another case of someone getting busted then moaning about it.

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Geoff, says...
10:44pm Sat 16 Dec 06

dont talk rubbish!! should of posted earier then,rather than last minute... idiot!!


By gum, it's still only the 16th. 9 days to go is hardly "last minute"!
And, if you work for the PO, you should know better than to describe the people who pay your wages in such a way!

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A postie, says...
10:57pm Sat 16 Dec 06

Does the general public honestly believe that our guys would have stood out there in the freezing rain for no reason??? Come on, They would have lost over 3 hours pay each over this - can you say you would do the same for a colleague?? Well done guys.

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Mat, says...
11:27pm Sat 16 Dec 06

what did he get suspended for then? staying within the terms of his employment? or breaching them? a simple answer would suffice.

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A postie, says...
11:47pm Sat 16 Dec 06

Mat - no one is going to tell you what you want to know, Royal Mail has an excellent way of 'keeping things inhouse'

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billie, says...
7:09am Sun 17 Dec 06

Impromptu strikes are illegal. They should have been sacked for not following procedure. The management should not have recognised any power in the union.

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Richard East, says...
9:09am Sun 17 Dec 06

Impromptu strikes are not illegal (unless the union or its officers ask everyone to go out). It is a right of every worker to withdraw their employment if they believe they have a strong enough reason to do so. If the bosses do not think the reason is good enough they have their own procedures to follow. I work at another RM delivery office and it seems at the moment that the central management are trying to cut back staff by fair means or foul.

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Windy, says...
9:05pm Sun 17 Dec 06

I'm curious to know what the driver did, too, to prompt a strike. What's the big secret?

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andy, says...
9:45pm Sun 17 Dec 06

billie wrote:
Impromptu strikes are illegal. They should have been sacked for not following procedure. The management should not have recognised any power in the union.
I agree!! With the dole figures in York growing more and more maybe the Royal Mail should have simply issued P45 all round and taken on some committed staff. Pointless strikes dont get any sympathy from me.

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BBD, says...
8:59am Mon 18 Dec 06

He probably did what they all do - drove through the estates of York as though he's on a mission from God!

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claire, says...
9:02am Mon 18 Dec 06

i also know why this strike happned, and think the drivers were perfectly justified to strike.
It's nice to see some camereaderie still exists in this day and age as opposed to 'every man for himself'!

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G, says...
10:12am Mon 18 Dec 06

Make's me laugh. It was SO justified that people who know won't say what it was about?! What's the big deal with just saying what it was ACTUALLY about to stop any negative posts. None of us are mystic meg!

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Geoff, says...
10:47am Mon 18 Dec 06

I agree G! Seems like only those who "know" what it's all about actually agree with it.
How can the paying public have any sympathy when they wont tell us what it's about.
So, postal workers, put up, or shut up!

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0869, says...
11:17am Mon 18 Dec 06

Good to know their mate is more important to them than doing their jobs. Sack the lot of them I say.

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postwoman, says...
11:31am Mon 18 Dec 06

its nice to know that in the post office they still have a sense of fair play and will stick up for their colleagues wish it was the same in every office

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0869, says...
11:41am Mon 18 Dec 06

Unions in this country have too much power, that's why nothing ever gets done.

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Postman_Pat, says...
11:58am Mon 18 Dec 06

If the van driver is anything like the postmen I know he probably deserved to get the sack. Posties think it is acceptable not to bother to post guaranteed next day parcels... Parcel Farce...

And all his work mates having a jolly outside just goes to prove how lazy they really are. Sack the lot...

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postwoman, says...
12:03pm Mon 18 Dec 06

a much maligned word power! however if the employers weilded power in a fair and just way we would not need trade unions the minimum wage and employment laws and health and safety legislation ! all of these ensure that power is not used as a stick to beat employees with !

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Clock Watcher, says...
12:03pm Mon 18 Dec 06

All you moaner's, try doing the job in all weathers for a business that treats you as a number and not an individual, the union stands up for the workers. A few years ago where you all saying the Fire Brigade unions were wrong to stike. Sometimes a wildcat strike does the trick, its the only thing that makes people stop and listen.

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Postie, says...
12:21pm Mon 18 Dec 06

Come on, give us a break.

We work out in the cold all year round. If we wanna drop a few DVDs in our bag around christmas time we should be allowed to.

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Doley, says...
12:26pm Mon 18 Dec 06

All you moaner's, try doing the job in all weathers


I don't like working outdoors in the cold, that's why I didn't become a postman. You must enjoy it though!

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Sawday, says...
12:30pm Mon 18 Dec 06

Alf wrote:
PO management deserve everythingnthat happens. There\\\'s no smoke without fire and people don\\\'t walk out unless they think it is justified. You don\\\'t throw money away, more power to the Unions and the people! Look at the state of British industry without a strong union presence.
You mean like British Leyland and the British Coal!!

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Henry, says...
12:36pm Mon 18 Dec 06

Clock Watcher wrote:
All you moaner's, try doing the job in all weathers for a business that treats you as a number and not an individual, the union stands up for the workers. A few years ago where you all saying the Fire Brigade unions were wrong to stike. Sometimes a wildcat strike does the trick, its the only thing that makes people stop and listen.
Must be a working class thing.

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Mike Oxlong, says...
12:48pm Mon 18 Dec 06

Maybe the driver was sick of driving Leyland Daf vans and wanted a Transit instead. Does someone in the Royal Mail buy them because they think Leyland is still a nationalised industry?
It won't be those striking that ruin the Royal Mail, it will be Blair and his henchmen closing all the post offices and franchising out those remaining as Spars and the like.

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Ex-Yorkie, says...
6:02pm Mon 18 Dec 06

Postie wrote:
Come on, give us a break. We work out in the cold all year round. If we wanna drop a few DVDs in our bag around christmas time we should be allowed to.
Sorry, are you trying to justify stealing from the people that you are supposed to be delivering to??? Is this what the van driver did to get sacked? If so, he deserves to be sacked and everybody that went out on strike in support of him should be sacked as well. Can't wait for the day the Post Office et al get privatised!!

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the truth, says...
7:26pm Mon 18 Dec 06

They were suspended for speeding. Simple. According to RM rules, this is perfectly allowable.

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Windy, says...
8:21pm Mon 18 Dec 06

the truth wrote:
They were suspended for speeding. Simple. According to RM rules, this is perfectly allowable.
Ahhhhh, so the truth comes out! Is this what really happened? If so, he deserved to get suspended! It amazes me that some people who drive for a living, risk their jobs by driving like lunatics! God, we have speed restrictions for a reason! Now who's stupid? Tsk.

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seth, says...
9:08pm Mon 18 Dec 06

being a rural postie means not dealing with the idiots in york,please dont tar us all with the same brush!some of us ENJOY the job and follow the rules.HAPPY XMAS.

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john, says...
10:46pm Mon 18 Dec 06

the truth wrote:
They were suspended for speeding. Simple. According to RM rules, this is perfectly allowable.
Suspended? They should be sacked.

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Another Fine Mess, says...
8:47am Tue 19 Dec 06

the truth wrote:
They were suspended for speeding. Simple. According to RM rules, this is perfectly allowable.
A source close to home said it was not speeding, get your facts right, how can you be called to truth when you talk so much tosh??

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Another Fine Mess, says...
8:50am Tue 19 Dec 06

If the problem was speeding then gather all facts then judge not before muppet

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the informer, says...
10:43am Tue 19 Dec 06

who thinks they own the place the drivers stuck by a friend and colleage when it mattered whats wrong with that muppet the strike was justified and rumour has that the area manager said that if she was on our shift then it wouldnt of happend because the driver wouldnt of been taken off driving in the first place and we wouldnt of had innacceptable behavior off the managment!

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the informer, says...
10:46am Tue 19 Dec 06

who thinks they own the place the drivers stuck by a friend and colleage when it mattered whats wrong with that muppet the strike was justified and rumour has that the area manager said that if she was on our shift then it wouldnt of happend because the driver wouldnt of been taken off driving in the first place and we wouldnt of had innacceptable behavior off the managment!

Report this post »

John B, says...
4:38pm Tue 19 Dec 06

Blimey, it sounds like theres a lot of managers and bosses posting on here. Either that or people have lost their minds. Its pretty sad to here people (pressuming they arent shareholders or managers) shouting "sack 'em all" and "the workers have too much power". What do you want? More anti-working class legislation? A ban on all strikes? Solidarity between workers being punished by flogging?

We need to stand together, it is self-defeating attitudes like this that has let governments carry out so many attacks on labour over the years and allowed businesses to dispose of workers with impunity. I support the stike not as a right of the postal staff but as a necessity in defending our condition as workers!

Well done to all those involved.

Report this post »

Chris, says...
5:07pm Tue 19 Dec 06

0869 wrote:
Unions in this country have too much power, that's why nothing ever gets done.
Give me a break. The unions have no power in this country. Even if they did not much would get done on worker's behalf. So many times in the past the mainstream TUC-type unions have let the workers down by selling us out to the bosses.

I have to totally agree with John B on this one.

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