Royal Mail wins high court injunction to halt Christmas postal strikes

The Royal Mail has won a legal battle to halt potential postal strikes in the run up to Christmas and the general election.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) overwhelmingly voted in favour of the strikes by 97 percent last month, following concerns about job security and employment terms.

But the Royal Mail successfully argued for an injunction to block the result, citing “irregularities” in the ballot and warning that holding strikes when millions of people will be casting their postal votes for the general election could disrupt democracy. The Royal Mail said: “A binding commitment from the CWU to remove the threat of strike action during the period of any general election is vital.”

The CWU said it would appeal against the injunction which it called an “utter outrage”.

Shane O’Riordain, Royal Mail managing director of regulation and corporate affairs, said in a statement: “We did not take the decision to go to the high court lightly. We sought to reach resolution outside the courts. We asked CWU to confirm it would refrain from taking industrial action, based on clear evidence of planned and orchestrated breaches by CWU officials of their legal obligations. CWU declined to do so, and we then had no option but to resort to legal action.”

Photo credit: Royal Mail website