Yahoo Finance Striking Royal Mail staff accused of violence and intimidation
Royal Mail has accused striking staff of assault and intimidation against workers crossing the picket line as the dispute between the two sides becomes increasingly bitter.
One person was headbutted while some employees were followed and filmed, according to claims made by the company as strikes entered their fifth month.
The business is now providing security at the worst affected locations following concerns about the safety of the 10,000 employees who chose to work over the last two days of walkouts.
Management said that 35 alleged criminal offences have been reported to the police, while 20 representatives from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have been suspended.
In a letter to Dave Ward, general secretary of the union, Royal Mail urged him to “end the pattern of wholly unacceptable behaviours on picket lines across the country, including many incidents relating to CWU representatives”.
Royal Mail claimed the CWU had ignored warnings on seven occasions of unacceptable behaviour and said that incidents were becoming more severe.
Mr Ward responded by accusing the Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson of using social media to “goad our members”.
Speaking on Sky News, he said: “He’s brought in a team of union and worker busters and they’re deliberately creating a psychological attack on every single worker.”
Mr Thompson and Mr Ward have repeatedly clashed in a long-running row over pay and changes to working practices.
Mr Thompson has said the 500-year-old business must be transformed into a parcels-led company to effectively compete against tech-savvy rivals such as Amazon. Royal Mail is losing more than £1m a day and bosses say the situation is untenable.
The two sides came close to a deal in November before talks collapsed and the latest in a string of walkouts took place.
Staff will go back to work on Friday but more strikes are planned in the run-up to Christmas on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December.
A spokesman for the company said: “More than 10,000 frontline employees chose to work on each of the last two days of strike action, and with numbers increasing with each passing day of industrial action, they should feel confident that they can do so safely and without the risk of harm.
A spokesman for the CWU said: "These allegations are as embarrassing as they are untrue.
"Prior to every round of strike action, the union has reminded members to turn out in record numbers whilst being peaceful and respectful.
"Our members and reps have done us proud. Our members want to go back to work and save Christmas for 32m households in the UK but they will not bow down to a culture of intimidation.”
