All major Post Offices are to down shutters for a day next month as workers strike against real-term pay cuts, adding to Britain's summer of industrial action.
Following a pay freeze last year and the offer of a 3% pay rise, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) - which represents Post Office workers as well as those at Royal Mail PLC (LSE:RMG) and BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A) - notified the employer of the strike action after a 97.3% vote in favour.
Post Office workers rejected a 3% management pay offer with effect from April 1, 2022, and a £500 lump sum fee, terming it as being woefully inadequate for two years.
As worker unrest grows across the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that there was "no point" giving workers pay increases, as he spoke at the G7 Summit in Bavaria.
With rail workers striking in the past week, strike action ballots at Royal Mail, BT and Rolls-Royce, for many there are echoes of the 1970s as Britain suffers from rocketing inflation and stagnant economic growth.
This is the third national strike this year by Post Office workers and is set to take place amid a retail price inflation rate of 11.7% for May, while the Post Office made profits of £35mln during the 2020-21 pandemic.
"Our members feel betrayed and will not tolerate their living standards being smashed by people in charge of a public service that due to our members’ efforts made tens of millions of pounds in annual profits," CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey said in a statement.
"There is more than enough money for a reasonable pay rise, implementing this pay cut is a management choice, not a necessity, " he added.
Tensions in the postal industry have been on the rise with Royal Mail also facing the prospect of a strike by more than 115,000 workers, unhappy with a 2% pay rise.
CWU is to ballot its members over potential industrial action, with results expected on July 19.
Strike votes by airline workers are also planned during the summer holidays, while over 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 13 train companies in Great Britain walked out on three days last week.
Many workers and their unions are unhappy with proposed pay rises well below inflation, with the UK's consumer inflation rate hitting 9.1% in May to mark a new 40-year high, with forecasts that it will exceed 11% later this year.
PM Johnson has rejected calls for wage increases above 3% in the public sector.
Speaking at the G7 summit, he argued: "At a time when you’ve got inflationary pressures in an economy, there’s no point in having pay rises that just cause further price rises because that just cancels out the benefit."