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'Save Coventry Mail Centre' March and Rally

IMCista | 31.03.2007 15:04 | Workers' Movements | Birmingham

A march and rally, organised by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), were held in Coventry city centre today to protest against the planned closure of Coventry's postal sorting office. The Royal Mail management are proposing to combine Coventry's and Northampton's sorting offices at a new site near Milton Keynes (Ml corridor), causing over 500 staff in Coventry to be made redundant. Northampton's sorting office had burned down in 2003 and staff are working from temporary accommodation.

According to Des Arthur from the Coventry Mail Centre Campaign, the Royal Mail management had admitted that the closure had nothing to do with the levels of efficiency and productivity at Coventry, which were excellent. Further, the proposed closure of Coventry, Gloucester and Beading sorting offices were in breach of the National Agreement and no immediate opportunity had been given to the UCW to offer a case for keeping them open.

The UCW has now drawn up a 26-page plan for keeping the Coventry office open and has collected more than 60,000 signatures on its petition. The union has vowed to ballot for industrial action if the management opts for compulsory redundancies.

assembly point

marching

cwu banner

a piper leading the march

young protesters

by the sorting office concerned

delivering a letter to the management

marching in town

marching

the rally

drums by Master Calss

speeches

Labour MPs promising support despite voting for 'free market postal service'

Tory Council leader lying and being booed

CWU's Das Arthur talking about Royal Mail management's hypocrisy

SOS baloons

Since the Postal Services Act 2000 was introduced, over a 1,000 post offices around the country have been closed down, paving the way for private companies to take over. Yet, operators such as TNT or DHL only handle the bulk transit between major customers and the main sorting offices, which is the easy bit, while Royal Mail is still expected to make the individual deliveries, but without the full amount of the postage.

IMCista

UK Indymedia

'Save Coventry Mail Centre' March and Rally

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