Post Office workers fight Coalition “transformation”

Post Office workers have taken strike action twice, on Easter Saturday and again on 19 April.  They’re angry at plans to close or franchise 76 big high street or “crown” post offices – over twenty per cent.  And that’s just the start of what the Coalition calls the “transformation” of Post Office Ltd (POL), aka privatisation.

Post Office workers strike to defend a vital public service

The Coalition keeps repeating the mantra that “the Post Office is safe in our hands” and they are making the network financially sustainable. In reality it’s about opening up new areas of profit for British businesses, franchising individual offices to a few big retailers like WH Smith that will provide fewer services to the public.

The overall aim is to commercialise and mutualise the Post Office on the model of the Co-op, since an outright sell-off would spark outrage including in the Tory shires.

Union members stand up for the Post Office

Post Office bosses are completely to blame for the strike, they have refused to negotiate on these cuts which threaten 770 jobs. The 4000 PO staff are also fed up waiting for a pay rise, since their last one was Spring 2011.  That’s the reason for a brilliant 88 per cent vote (on a 75 per cent turnout) for strike action, and well-attended picket lines which have been joined by pensioners.

Support your local post office workers and help stamp out privatisation!

http://www.cwu.org/the-future-of-the-post-office.html