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Call to
Settle Postal Dispute
Chambers
plea to both sides as end in sight
TOWNSFOLK
can expect continued mail delays while union leaders decide
whether or not to accept a deal to end strike action.
As
the Gazette went to press, the Communication Workers Union
(CWU) was still considering the offer which was made on Friday.
The
deal, aimed at resolving a long running dispute over pay,
pensions and working practices at the Royal Mail, was being
discussed yesterday (Tuesday) and is thought to give CWU
members a 6.9 per cent pay rise over 18 months.
A
series of 48-hour strikes and unofficial walkouts have been
mounted by union members this month and previous stoppages
resulted in postal disruption for several days last week.
The
strike – described as the worst to hit the mail industry in 20
years – has also affected businesses.
Fife
Chamber of Commerce has called on both sides to solve the
dispute. Chief
Executive, Alan Russell, said:”The KY postal area is already
the worst performing in Britain and this strike could not have
come at a worse time.
“Strikes
will only damage the business further, which will lead to even
fewer jobs for postal workers as businesses find alternative
means to get mail to their customers and to receive and make
payments.
“If
this dispute is not resolved quickly, the self-inflicted damage
to postal services could be irreparable.”
Fife
Council sais that the strikes had not yet had a major effect on
its services.
Spokeswoman Alison Baillie said:”We are making more use
of alternative communication, such as e-mails and any council
services which are doing bulk mailing have timed this to avoid
any Royal Mail industrial action.
“Obviously,
there will be some impact and things like payments to our
suppliers could beheld up because invoices are stuck in the
mail, but it has not had any huge affect so far.”
Royal
Mail claims the strikes are unjustified and that it needs to
modernise its operations if it is to compete with private
sector rivals and alternative communications media.
The
government has urged the union to accept the deal currently on
offer, but has refused to get involved in the ongoing talks
between the two sides.
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