Post by Salem6 on Nov 1, 2003 10:12:32 GMT
Talks are due to resume in the postal dispute, amid signs the row is becoming more bitter.
About 25,000 workers are on unofficial strike action across the capital and in more than a dozen regional centres, with deliveries severely disrupted.
Bullying claims have come from both sides of the dispute
Royal Mail management and union representatives are due to meet again on Saturday, in the hope the dispute can be resolved before it goes to conciliation service Acas on Monday.
But accusations have begun flying from both sides about intimidation and bullying.
A document has been leaked to the Guardian in which Royal Mail managers were urged to spy on activists, videotaping them at meetings or on picket lines and watching their actions on CCTV.
WHERE IS THE DISRUPTION?
London services are extremely disrupted, with most post boxes sealed and people advised not to post letters
Special Delivery services suspended in London
Other areas affected include: Chelmsford, Colchester, Coventry, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Portsmouth, Slough, Southend, Swindon
Royal Mail has not denied the claims, saying merely that it is right to "take steps to end the action".
And it has accused activists of intimidating workers not to go back to work.
It says it has evidence of fireworks and bricks being thrown at postal workers ignoring the strike.
There have already been three days of talks between management and the union negotiators, but have so far ended without agreement.
'Uniquely damaging'
Subjects up for discussion on Saturday include a national agreement on overtime, and the implementation of a single delivery service in London.
The Communication Workers Union is not officially condoning the wildcat strike action, but is negotiating on behalf of the workers.
The union says the reason for the action is that Royal Mail managers have been trying to force through changes to working practices without agreement.
General secretary Billy Hayes attacked the Royal Mail for not negotiating seriously in the dispute, saying it had sent only a "very low level manager" into the talks.
Mr Hayes also reacted to claims that the Royal Mail was monitoring the strikers, accusing it of operating like a "dictatorship".
The government says the management and unions must resolve the issue between them.
"If the postal workers want our sympathy they are going about it the wrong way " Mel, Oxford, England.
But shadow trade secretary Tim Yeo said the government must at least warn both sides that the action is being "uniquely damaging".
"There's so many alternatives to using the letter post, unlike previous strikes," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"This strike will result not just in a temporary loss of business for Royal Mail but a permanent loss.
"And of course during the strike lots of vulnerable people, running small businesses, people who depend on postal services to receive for example benefit payments through giro cheques, they will be placed at risk."
Royal Mail's competitors are already being allowed to take over more deliveries on a temporary basis.
Private firms holding licences to deliver a limited amount of bulk mail to business customers have been given permission to carry any mail they wanted because of the dispute.
"There's so many alternatives to using the letter post... this strike will result not just in a temporary loss of business for Royal Mail but a permanent loss " Shadow trade secretary Tim Yeo.
Tesco has switched to private firm Parcelnet to deliver books ordered on its internet site.
The action began in the capital about two weeks ago, in the wake of a 24-hour official strike over London weighting payments.
Many of London's 13,000 post boxes have now been sealed up, and millions of letters are caught in the backlog.
Postal workers in Chelmsford, Colchester, Coventry, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Portsmouth, Slough, Southend and Swindon had joined the walkouts by Friday night.
Some businesses have had no mail for days, and executives say they have lost tens of millions of pounds.
The Passport Office has been flooded with inquiries from holidaymakers concerned about documents held up in the post.
Where is the postal disruption?
Here is a list of what postal services are being disrupted where, by the unofficial strikes.
Royal Mail advice is that people should post items outside the affected areas - listed by postcode - if possible.
In central London, thousands of post boxes have been sealed up and people have been advised not to post letters unless absolutely necessary.
Special Delivery services are also being disrupted, with no items being accepted in London or several other large towns and cities.
At the bottom of the page is a list of main mail centres which are unaffected by the action.
Post office branches are still open, and Parcelforce parcel services remain unaffected.
London
Central London: EC1-4, WC1, WC2
West London: all W postcodes
North London: N1-3, N5-8, N10-13, N16, N19, N21
North West London: NW1- 6, NW8-11
South West London: SW1-2, SW4-6, SW8-20
South East London: SE1-5, SE7-10, SE13-16, SE19-28
East London: E1, E3-4, E6, E10-14, E16-17
Special Delivery items will not be accepted in any of the above London postcodes for the time being.
Postboxes are being sealed in all of the above London postcodes.
Middlesex
Greenford: HA, UB
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in either of these postcodes for the time being.
Essex
Ilford: IG1-6, IG8, IG11
Romford: RM1-2, RM4, RM7, RM9, RM12, RM13, RM15
Southend: SS3-5, SS9, SS13-17
Chelmsford: CM 1-99
Colchester: CO1-4
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in IG, SS, CO, CM or RM postcodes for the time being.
Kent
Dartford: DA1-5
Maidstone: ME
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in DA or ME postcodes for the time being.
Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes: MK1-7, MK9, MK10, MK15, MK17
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in MK postcodes for the time being.
Oxfordshire
Oxford: OX
Special delivery items are not being accepted in OX postcodes for the time being.
Warwickshire
Coventry: CV
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in CV postcodes for the time being.
Berkshire
Slough: SL1-0
Special delivery items are not being accepted in SL postcodes for the time being.
Hampshire
Portsmouth: P0
Special delivery items are not being accepted in P0 postcodes for the time being.
Wiltshire
Swindon: SN
Special delivery items are not being accepted in SN postcodes for the time being.
Lanarkshire
Staff at Scotland's largest mail distribution centre at Wishaw, Lanarkshire briefly walked out on Wednesday but returned to work later. Royal Mail says customers can continue to post letters as normal.
Cheshire
On Thursday 400 workers walked out of Warrington regional distribution centre, which deals with business post, including catalogues and mail order.
Staffordshire
About 80 staff walked out of a Stoke-on-Trent mail delivery depot on Friday. Royal Mail says the homes and businesses most affected are in the ST6 post code area.
Cambridgeshire
Staff at the Cambridge sorting office walked out on Friday afternoon.
Mail centres unaffected by the action include:
Gatwick Mail Centre, Crawley
Guildford Mail Centre, Woodbridge Meadows, Guildford
Hemel Hempstead Mail Centre, Park lane, Hempel Hempstead
Peterborough Mail Centre, Papyrus Road, Peterborough
Reading Mail Centre, 80 Caversham Road, Reading
Royal Mail Canterbury, Military Road, Canterbury
Tonbridge Mail Centre, 20 Vale Rise, Tonbridge
Southampton Mail Centre, West Bay Road Western Docks, Southampton
About 25,000 workers are on unofficial strike action across the capital and in more than a dozen regional centres, with deliveries severely disrupted.
Bullying claims have come from both sides of the dispute
Royal Mail management and union representatives are due to meet again on Saturday, in the hope the dispute can be resolved before it goes to conciliation service Acas on Monday.
But accusations have begun flying from both sides about intimidation and bullying.
A document has been leaked to the Guardian in which Royal Mail managers were urged to spy on activists, videotaping them at meetings or on picket lines and watching their actions on CCTV.
WHERE IS THE DISRUPTION?
London services are extremely disrupted, with most post boxes sealed and people advised not to post letters
Special Delivery services suspended in London
Other areas affected include: Chelmsford, Colchester, Coventry, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Portsmouth, Slough, Southend, Swindon
Royal Mail has not denied the claims, saying merely that it is right to "take steps to end the action".
And it has accused activists of intimidating workers not to go back to work.
It says it has evidence of fireworks and bricks being thrown at postal workers ignoring the strike.
There have already been three days of talks between management and the union negotiators, but have so far ended without agreement.
'Uniquely damaging'
Subjects up for discussion on Saturday include a national agreement on overtime, and the implementation of a single delivery service in London.
The Communication Workers Union is not officially condoning the wildcat strike action, but is negotiating on behalf of the workers.
The union says the reason for the action is that Royal Mail managers have been trying to force through changes to working practices without agreement.
General secretary Billy Hayes attacked the Royal Mail for not negotiating seriously in the dispute, saying it had sent only a "very low level manager" into the talks.
Mr Hayes also reacted to claims that the Royal Mail was monitoring the strikers, accusing it of operating like a "dictatorship".
The government says the management and unions must resolve the issue between them.
"If the postal workers want our sympathy they are going about it the wrong way " Mel, Oxford, England.
But shadow trade secretary Tim Yeo said the government must at least warn both sides that the action is being "uniquely damaging".
"There's so many alternatives to using the letter post, unlike previous strikes," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"This strike will result not just in a temporary loss of business for Royal Mail but a permanent loss.
"And of course during the strike lots of vulnerable people, running small businesses, people who depend on postal services to receive for example benefit payments through giro cheques, they will be placed at risk."
Royal Mail's competitors are already being allowed to take over more deliveries on a temporary basis.
Private firms holding licences to deliver a limited amount of bulk mail to business customers have been given permission to carry any mail they wanted because of the dispute.
"There's so many alternatives to using the letter post... this strike will result not just in a temporary loss of business for Royal Mail but a permanent loss " Shadow trade secretary Tim Yeo.
Tesco has switched to private firm Parcelnet to deliver books ordered on its internet site.
The action began in the capital about two weeks ago, in the wake of a 24-hour official strike over London weighting payments.
Many of London's 13,000 post boxes have now been sealed up, and millions of letters are caught in the backlog.
Postal workers in Chelmsford, Colchester, Coventry, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Portsmouth, Slough, Southend and Swindon had joined the walkouts by Friday night.
Some businesses have had no mail for days, and executives say they have lost tens of millions of pounds.
The Passport Office has been flooded with inquiries from holidaymakers concerned about documents held up in the post.
Where is the postal disruption?
Here is a list of what postal services are being disrupted where, by the unofficial strikes.
Royal Mail advice is that people should post items outside the affected areas - listed by postcode - if possible.
In central London, thousands of post boxes have been sealed up and people have been advised not to post letters unless absolutely necessary.
Special Delivery services are also being disrupted, with no items being accepted in London or several other large towns and cities.
At the bottom of the page is a list of main mail centres which are unaffected by the action.
Post office branches are still open, and Parcelforce parcel services remain unaffected.
London
Central London: EC1-4, WC1, WC2
West London: all W postcodes
North London: N1-3, N5-8, N10-13, N16, N19, N21
North West London: NW1- 6, NW8-11
South West London: SW1-2, SW4-6, SW8-20
South East London: SE1-5, SE7-10, SE13-16, SE19-28
East London: E1, E3-4, E6, E10-14, E16-17
Special Delivery items will not be accepted in any of the above London postcodes for the time being.
Postboxes are being sealed in all of the above London postcodes.
Middlesex
Greenford: HA, UB
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in either of these postcodes for the time being.
Essex
Ilford: IG1-6, IG8, IG11
Romford: RM1-2, RM4, RM7, RM9, RM12, RM13, RM15
Southend: SS3-5, SS9, SS13-17
Chelmsford: CM 1-99
Colchester: CO1-4
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in IG, SS, CO, CM or RM postcodes for the time being.
Kent
Dartford: DA1-5
Maidstone: ME
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in DA or ME postcodes for the time being.
Buckinghamshire
Milton Keynes: MK1-7, MK9, MK10, MK15, MK17
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in MK postcodes for the time being.
Oxfordshire
Oxford: OX
Special delivery items are not being accepted in OX postcodes for the time being.
Warwickshire
Coventry: CV
Special Delivery items are not being accepted in CV postcodes for the time being.
Berkshire
Slough: SL1-0
Special delivery items are not being accepted in SL postcodes for the time being.
Hampshire
Portsmouth: P0
Special delivery items are not being accepted in P0 postcodes for the time being.
Wiltshire
Swindon: SN
Special delivery items are not being accepted in SN postcodes for the time being.
Lanarkshire
Staff at Scotland's largest mail distribution centre at Wishaw, Lanarkshire briefly walked out on Wednesday but returned to work later. Royal Mail says customers can continue to post letters as normal.
Cheshire
On Thursday 400 workers walked out of Warrington regional distribution centre, which deals with business post, including catalogues and mail order.
Staffordshire
About 80 staff walked out of a Stoke-on-Trent mail delivery depot on Friday. Royal Mail says the homes and businesses most affected are in the ST6 post code area.
Cambridgeshire
Staff at the Cambridge sorting office walked out on Friday afternoon.
Mail centres unaffected by the action include:
Gatwick Mail Centre, Crawley
Guildford Mail Centre, Woodbridge Meadows, Guildford
Hemel Hempstead Mail Centre, Park lane, Hempel Hempstead
Peterborough Mail Centre, Papyrus Road, Peterborough
Reading Mail Centre, 80 Caversham Road, Reading
Royal Mail Canterbury, Military Road, Canterbury
Tonbridge Mail Centre, 20 Vale Rise, Tonbridge
Southampton Mail Centre, West Bay Road Western Docks, Southampton
