UK postal strike

The strike's roots can be traced back to 2007, when Royal Mail signed a 14-page Pay and Modernisation Agreement and the government claims the current disagreement centres on changes "agreed two years ago".Ken Clarke today gave the clearest indication yet that a Conservative Government would privatise the whole of Royal Mail and the Prime Minister says it is "incumbent on workers and management to get together" to solve the current dispute which is "self-defeating".

The postal workers' union will announce a new three-day strike from next Thursday, according to Sky sources.
Thousands of Royal Mail workers are taking part in the first nationwide postal strike in two years.Birmingham's Royal Mail workers went on strike after failing to come to an agreement with their bosses over working conditions. Postal workers in Northern Ireland are taking part in the first nationwide postal strike in two years. Thousands of postal workers in Scotland have also walked out in support of a national strike over jobs, pay and modernisation. The Communication Workers Union

The postal service has been around in one form or another for 350 years - but thanks to emails and texting we are using it less and less which is good because hardly any of the 30000 emergency post workers employed to alleviate postal strike are ready to start work, because they are undergoing criminal records checks.

Dave Ward, the CWU's Deputy General Secretary, says that postal workers claims they had 'no alternative' but to strike, to 'stand up' for UK postal services whiel businesses were scrambling to line up alternative delivery services and reassure customers.

Striking post workers were accused of having a "death wish" as they began a 48-hour walkout.