Postal workers in protest strike

The strike action will continue overnight after talks broke up

Hundreds of postal workers have gone on strike in a protest over the suspension of a postal worker, union officials have said.

A spokesman for the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said all 400 staff at Dartford's Royal Mail sorting office were on strike on Wednesday, with up to 100 on the picket line.

Managers and casual staff have been drafted in to keep the mail moving despite the industrial action, which is to continue overnight.

The stoppage follows two 24-hour strikes in a separate claim over the London Weighting pay allowance.

There is no rhyme nor reason for their behaviour and no justification for the inconvenience they are putting customers to Royal Mail

The dispute started at noon on Tuesday when a driver was suspended for refusing to move a section of mail, a union spokesman said.

Managers had asked the man to transfer the mail to a temporary sorting office but he refused because it would deny his colleagues the chance of earning overtime.

The driver was then suspended, triggering a walkout by about 100 fellow workers on Tuesday afternoon after a meeting with management failed to resolve the disagreement.

The union spokesman said the driver had since been reinstated.

'Refusing to co-operate'

Talks between union representatives and Royal Mail management broke up on Wednesday afternoon but may resume on Thursday morning.

A statement issued by Royal Mail said: "Communication Workers Union members are refusing to follow their own unions' call that they should co-operate fully with Royal Mail in restoring customer services after the London-wide strike.

"Instead they are refusing to comply with requests from Royal Mail that they help get things back to normal for customers by undertaking simple tasks that other CWU members everywhere else have done without trouble.

"There is no rhyme nor reason for their behaviour and no justification for the inconvenience they are putting customers to.

"The CWU must act now and deliver their members back to work so we can restore services to customers in line with undertakings the union has given."