Black Country workers brave rain in latest Royal Mail strike
People have braved the rain and took to picket lines across the Black Country as the long-running dispute with Royal Mail continues over pay and conditions.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are gathering outside the Sun Street depot in Wolverhampton and other spots in the region.
The strike action includes workers who collect, sort and deliver parcels at letters at the company – with another day of action taking place on October 25.
Union chiefs have accused Royal Mail of planning structural change, which would effectively see employees in secure jobs turned into "financially precarious workforce overnight" – and have accused the chief executive of side-stepping talks aimed at avoiding strike action.
The union said that in recent weeks, relations between worker and employer have deteriorated, with Royal Mail serving legal notice that it was withdrawing from existing agreements with the CWU, as well as threatening to cut 10,000 jobs following strike action last week.
But the company has said on October 14 they announced losses of £219 million in the first half of the year and it demonstrated the "urgent need" for it to change, with strike action potentially causing "operational restructuring and job losses".
