Voice of London

Royal Mail wins a High Court injunction to prevent a potential strike by workers, which may have disrupted the postal votes on the general election in Christmas. 

Last month, 100,000 Royal Mail staffs voted in a dispute between workers and management over job safety and employment terms. However, Royal Mail argued that the vote was invalid because of “potential irregularities”.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) responded immediately after the ruling in the tweet: “Genuinely this is an utter outrage, 110, 000 workers vs the establishment” 

Members of the CWU voted by 97% to back walkouts, with a turnout of nearly 76%, saying, the company had failed to comply with an employment agreement reached last year. 

Royal Mail has denied this claim and said there was evidence that the members were under pressure to vote ‘yes’ which maximised the turnout.

But the CWU lawyers argued, there was no evidence of interference with the ballot. The Electoral Reform Society confirmed it was run in full accordance of the law. 

The CWU had not set a strike date, denied the allegations and contested the case. Mr Justice Swift indicated that he had decided to grant the injunction at the outset of a ruling in the afternoon.   

If the strike continues, it will be the first national postal strike by Royal Mail in a decade and it could have an impact on postal votes before the general election on 12 December.  

The CWU must decide whether to launch a new ballot of members or to appeal against the decision.

 

Words: Wanchen Cao l Reuters, Phil Noble