Union steps up post campaign

The CWU communication workers’ union is intensifying its campaign for the protection of postal services and post offices, despite the disappointment of the Postal Services Bill completing its passage through the House of Commons.

At the end of January, over a thousand people, including hundreds of postal workers, gathered in Kingston, Surrey to take the CWU’s “Keep the Post Public” message to the constituency of postal affairs minister Ed Davey.

In response to the Bill progressing to the House of Lords, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said that although the union was frustrated by the failure to safeguard post offices and postal services, it took some encouragement from MPs’ responses.

“MPs from all parties spoke in favour of amendments showing the breadth of concern across the House,” he said.

The union believes there are huge loopholes in the Bill which put the universal service and post office network at risk.

“If this legislation goes through it will mean the end of the postal service as we know it,” said Hayes. The union believes that the Bill would result in prices sky rocketing, the universal one-price-goes-anywhere service being put in jeopardy and post offices closing.

“If people think the weather has been bad for deliveries, you’ve not seen anything if the government gets its way,” he said.