Royal Mail Newbury postal workers join in nationwide strike

Newbury postal workers were striking today (Friday) along with more than 100,000 others across the country in a dispute over fair pay.

Nearly all the Royal Mail workers at the Newbury Post Office, which numbers around 100, took part in the strike action today, with a small number also running picket lines on Bear Lane.

Protesters held up Communication Workers Union placards that read 'Millions for the bosses, pennies for the workers' and chanted the words “We’ve got to fight for our right to fair pay” along to the tune of Fight for Your Right by the Beastie Boys.

Postman Ray Wilson, who was part of the protest, said: “Everyone out here can’t afford to strike, but at the end of the day we’ve got to stand our ground.

“Hopefully after today they might come back to some talks. Whether they do or not, I don’t know.”

Sixty-three-year-old Mr Wilson, who has been a postman for 23 years and was in the armed forces for 22 years before that, likened the postal worker strike to that of the recent rail strikes, saying “we’re all in the same boat”.

One elderly woman was arguing with protesters, accusing them of being greedy.

In response, Mr Wilson said: “We’re not being greedy at all. The people at the top are creaming everything off as far as I’m concerned. It’s not happening for the rest of us. This is the solution we’ve got.

“We don’t want to lose money, we want to be in there working.

“We’re here for a reason. We’re here to fight for what we deserve, a fair pay rise. That’s all we’re asking for.”

The Newbury workers were predominantly striking over pay, but some were also striking over fears they may be a hostile takeover of the company in the future, putting their jobs at risk.

One postal worker who did not wish to be named said that the future was looking “pretty bleak”.

He said: “They want to attack our terms and conditions and remove sick pay. They also want to take London weighting away from us.”

When asked if he saw an end in sight, the worker said: “We hope so.

“Every day we’re out here it is costing the business about £10m.

“As you can imagine there are letters in there for people from hospitals, there’s Covid kits; there’s all sorts we want to get in there and deliver, but at the present time Royal Mail aren’t moving from their agenda.”

Postal workers are planning to continue their strike next Wednesday, August 31.