Here are some more reports and interviews from picket lines around the country:

On my way home from work at 4.10pm this Thursday afternoon I stopped off at the CWU picket line outside the Bishop Street sorting office in Coventry and spoke to Des Arthur, CWU rep for the Area Processing Staff, and his fellow CWU members. They reported that the strike had been rock solid with between 800 and 900 staff out and only a few agency workers going in.

There has been excellent support from the public with people stopping off at the picket line to voice their support and others tooting their horns when driving past. Unlike some other areas of the country, in Coventry all postal workers including delivery staff were out today and will be back at work tomorrow.

Solid picket lines of between 20 and 30 people had been out since 6am this morning. Most were doing 6-hour shifts and there will be pickets there until 10pm this evening to ensure that no staff go in. Next week there will be further strikes if the dispute is not settled.

In addition to this national dispute, Coventry CWU members have been involved in industrial action over the last two years over plans to close the large Bishop Street sorting office and transfer the operation to the Swan Valley Estate near Northampton, some 40 miles from Coventry. CWU members will be invited to work at this new processing centre when it opens in approximately 18 months, but for many it would mean an 80-mile daily round trip up and down the motorway. Many jobs would be lost and pollution would rise with not only posties travelling to work but also letters being delivered in Coventry being transported down to this new centre to be sorted and then transported back to Coventry to be delivered!

Darrall Cozens
Coventry Labour Party and UCU.

"This morning I went to the picket on my way to work in Bermondsey. The postal workers were friendly and gave more or less the same reports that we've heard elsewhere - managers are bullying and trying to provoke in particular illegal walkouts, and workers have had almost a doubling of their deliveries with no consultation."

Dan Morley, unison activist.

“We are striking because the Royal Mail management are running the service into the ground. They’re trying to privatise the industry in order to increase profits, by driving up prices and cutting wages, and providing a lower quality service.” 

“We are out to defend the public service, and defend our terms and conditions. Currently, our postage prices are the cheapest in Western Europe, and our efficiency is the highest. The Royal Mail management want to put an end to that. They have cut £1.5million off the budget for this area alone. This after they announced a profit of £320million from last year.”

“The Royal Mail management has produced figures indicating that, in my area, there has been a 10% drop in letters, with a 4% rise in parcels. These figures are debatable. Management have changed the way in which they count items. In any case, they have cut 55 jobs, which is 20% of the workforce. This doesn’t add up. Also adding to the problem is that delivery time to a single address takes the same time, regardless of the number of items.”

“The senior management, and the government, have complete contempt for ordinary working people. They are only interested in profit, and have no regard for providing a public service, and no regard for customers. Most people want a decent cheap postal service, they do not want competition, but that’s what management are offering.”

Mervin Reader, London East Central Delivery Area Rep

“The idea being spread by the mass media that we are striking against modernisation is a complete red herring. The fact is, if you go online and order goods from the internet most of them will be delivered by Royal Mail. We’re not against modernisation. What we are fighting for here is to ensure that modernisation provides an excellent service for the public, and provides Royal Mail staff with the best terms and conditions.

“The main motivation of the Royal Mail management is the destruction of the Union in the workplace, and the Union nationally, and then the privatisation of the postal industry in the name of profit. The Union is the biggest barrier to that.”

“This is a political attack. You can see that at every level, from Peter Mandelson down. This hole dispute is being orchestrated from the very top of government.”

“The managers that are in place now are not fit to run this industry. There is no one in this country who knows more about how to run a good postal service than the Royal Mail workers”.

Mark Dolan, North London Area Delivery Rep