In the latest twist to the long running dispute between the UK postal service,Royal Mail, and the Communication Workers Union (CWU), the Union will seek to have the company’s plans to use temporary agency workers ruled illegal. According to the CWU, the 30 000 temps are used to replace CWU members who strike over pay and modernisation. For their part, the Royal Mail say that the temps are used to clear the backlog of mail left by strikes and to also deal with the additional post generated during the Christmas period.
With the Royal Mail having already made 63 000 frontline staff redundant in the last few years as a result of less mail volume, the CWU agrees that more job cuts are necessary to remain competitive, though differs in its view over the numbers to be affected and the future pay and working conditions of the remaining staff.
Source: BBC.co.uk/03.11.09