Royal Mail slams union’s ‘wholly unacceptable behaviours’ at strikes
Royal Mail has today written to union bosses to intervene in “wholly unacceptable behaviours” on the picket line.
Writing to the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) Dave Ward, the delivery giant said there had been more than 100 allegations of violence and assault, harassment and intimidation have been reported over the four months of industrial action.
It said 70 allegations involve CWU representatives, with 35 cases reported to the police.
20 CWU representatives have been suspended from work for incidents including extreme incidents like the headbutting of an employee, and employees being followed and filmed against their will in acts of intimidation.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “This behaviour has no place in any civilised workplace. The direct intervention of the CWU’s General Secretary is needed to end this culture of intimidation on the picket line, including many incidents by CWU representatives.”
It revealed that more than 10,000 Royal Mail colleagues chose to work on each of the last two days of industrial action (30 November and 1 December).
Nonetheless, Royal Mail has resorted to using gig economy app Ryde in a bid to minimise postie strike disruption.
Although the company usually employs agency staff during the busy Christmas period, the measure has been brought forward, and is the first time it has resorted to using an Uber-style workforce to process its deliveries.
A CWU spokesperson said: “These allegations are as embarrassing as they are untrue. For a CEO who spends his every waking hour, intimidating, gaslighting and mocking our members online, to have the front to target others for wholly legal and friendly picketing is beyond a joke.”
“Our members want to go back to work and save Christmas for 32 million households in the UK but they will not bow down to a culture of intimidation.”