Royal Mail workers head for tribunal

Oct 2 2009 by Stuart Wilson

POSTIES in Cumnock were forced to work for nothing after a row with bosses.

More than half the workforce were told their wage would be withheld when they refused to work 30 minutes of overtime.

Now the two sides will clash at an employment tribunal, with workers furious at their treatment by the Royal Mail.

Farcical scenes erupted last Friday as 28 employees were told to work an extra half hour – or have their wage packet for the day withheld.

But despite the angry stand-off, posties continued on their rounds to deliver the mail for free.

Ayrshire union rep Tam Dewar revealed: “We have a voluntary agreement with the company which allows staff to fit overtime in with other family commitments.

“The Royal Mail are now trying to say this is compulsory, but no contract exists and no agreement has ever been signed.

“They cannot force people to work overtime, yet for some reason they seem to think they can, and if you don’t like it you won’t be paid.”

The row comes hot on the heels of the postal strikes which have crippled the service.

Mail is backlogged for up to a week as sorting offices struggle to get back to normal.

And Tam added: “All our customers know there is a backlog of mail up and down the country – a lot of them depend on a regular and early service for the sake of their business.

“Postal workers want to get on with the job of delivering it.

“They develop a good relationship with their customers and have the view that it’s their responsibility to deliver the mail.”

A Royal Mail spokesman added: “This is about Royal Mail’s pay and modernisation agreement, which the CWU signed up to in 2007 and all staff were paid an extra £400 for.

“Royal Mail is asking our people to abide by this agreement, which they have already accepted and which has been implemented in the majority of offices across Scotland.

“The agreement centres around our people working flexibly within their contracted hours, where we ask them to work an extra half an hour a week.

“Within this flexibility agreement, Royal Mail also recognises domestic arrangements if staff let us know where issues arise.”