Postal workers to launch strikes

London: Thousands of postal staff across Britain are to launch a series of strikes in an escalating dispute over pay and jobs tomorrow, threatening the biggest disruption to mail deliveries in two years.

More than 25,000 postal workers are to take part in the action planned for Saturday and Monday, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said. The strikes will be the biggest since a national stoppage in 2007, and will affect several major towns and cities including London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Ipswich.

Workers are protesting against "panic driven" cuts being made at Royal Mail to pay, jobs and services, the union said.

Royal Mail condemned the action which it said would damage customer confidence and "undermine the entire UK postal industry", at a time when mail volumes are falling by nearly 10% year-on-year.

The union's executive will hold a national ballot of its 160,000 postal members next month, which could lead to nationwide strikes in the autumn. The result of the ballot should be known the week before the Labour party conference.

Strikes have already hit several areas of the country in recent weeks, including London and Scotland.

The action is now spreading and will for the first time involve drivers of Royal Mail lorries.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, accused Royal Mail of imposing changes on staff and said the cuts were hitting postal services. The company has accused the union of reneging on a modernisation deal which ended the 2007 strike.

Drivers based in Northampton, Birmingham, Coventry, London and the Essex regional distribution centre will be among workers striking for 24 hours tomorrow, while postal staff in Bristol and Edinburgh will be among those taking action on Saturday.

The strike will spread to Suffolk and Norfolk on Monday, with further areas of the country set to be hit later next week.