Over 115,000 postal workers at Royal Mail have voted in favour of a national strike, British trade union CWU said, as it demanded the London-listed company enter negotiations for a “straight, no-strings” pay rise.
“The vote can leave no doubt that postal workers are united, and that they are demanding the proper pay rise they deserve,” the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said.
If the strike were to go ahead, it would likely be the biggest industrial action taken by workers this summer, the union said. The ballot saw 97.6% votes in favour of taking action on a 77% turnout.
Royal Mail did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
The company, amongst the oldest postal groups in the world, had shown caution in its last profit guidance, saying that meeting forecasts this year depended on the CWU agreeing a pay deal that was ‘broadly in line’ with its offer.
However, talks failed to result in a pay deal, with the union having said that they wanted “an inflation-based no strings pay award”. Royal Mail had said its offer was worth up to 5.5%.
Any potential strikes come as workers in other sectors including the railways and airlines have also expressed discontent over pay through walkouts as Britain faces its worst cost-of-living crisis in three decades.
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