Postal strikes spread

Union leaders have threatened to disrupt the Christmas mail

A dead rat has started an unofficial walkout by postal workers in east London.

Up to 100 workers staged the strike at a delivery office in Leyton after the animal was found in the men's lavatory.

They claim managers turned down their request to use the women's facilities and for the women to use a lavatory in the staff canteen.

The new walkout comes after thousands of workers took part in unofficial action in separate disputes on Wednesday.

About 1,000 workers at Greenford in west London walked out over mail handling arrangements.

Blocking transfer

And workers in West Ealing, Acton and Kensington took action after a union representative was suspended.

Two official strikes by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have already gone ahead in recent weeks in a dispute over London Weighting allowances.

The postal workers want London Weighting increased to £4,000, but Royal Mail has said there is no more money to improve an offer of £300 a year more, taking inner London allowances to £3,784 and the outer London figure to £2,667.

But union leaders have threatened to disrupt the Christmas mail if a solution cannot be found.

Further industrial action could go ahead in north London where hundreds of postal workers are due to vote over supporting a colleague who claims he was denied a transfer to the Midlands.

Tom Doherty, who was sacked after he was accused of being a football hooligan, was reinstated after winning his case of unfair dismissal.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said it was "nonsense" to suggest that anyone was trying to block Mr Doherty's transfer.