Royal Mail staff vote on ‘biggest strike’ of summer as tram walkout begins

theguardian.com:

Royal Mail workers have begun voting on whether to walk out in a dispute over salary rises that could become the biggest strike this summer, while tram drivers have begun a 48-hour strike in south London in a separate row over pay.

About 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have received ballot papers and will vote in the coming weeks on whether to stage a campaign of industrial action. The result of the vote is expected on 19 July.

The union said it could be “the biggest strike” in what is shaping up to be a summer of discontent, as thousands of workers from different industries walk out to demand pay awards that keep up with soaring inflation. Rail workers staged three-day strikes last week.

The CWU called on Royal Mail to negotiate with the union to secure a “straight, no-strings” pay increase for employees. It said management intended to impose a 2% pay rise that would be a “dramatic real-terms wage cut” because of soaring inflation.

A union spokesperson said: “Britain’s postal workers are being forced into accepting a massive pay cut by the same people they have generated incredible profits for. Our members are going to food banks while bosses reward themselves with advance bonuses.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We believe there are no grounds for industrial action. We offered a deal worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years, which was rejected by the CWU.

“We need to reach an agreement on the changes required to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry, securing jobs for the future and retaining our place as the industry leader on pay and terms and conditions.”

Meanwhile, about 150 members of the Aslef union on