Postal workers to continue strike

The Liverpool action is in a dispute over shift patterns

Postal workers in Liverpool have voted to continue unofficial industrial action at a mass meeting in the city.

The action was taken despite a national deal aimed at ending Communication Workers' Union's (CWU) long-running dispute over shift patterns.

Union members said they had not heard sufficient detail on the national deal to convince them to return to work.

They are awaiting the outcome of a CWU national executive meeting later and want to see a copy of the agreement.

The decision was carried by a majority vote on Monday.

This is the second time workers have voted to stay on strike.

At a meeting at Aintree Racecourse on Friday, 800 Merseyside staff voted to reject proposals to return to work.

Flexible tickets

Workers said they still did not feel that they had heard enough about the national deal to feel confident to go back to work.

The main issue is flexible working hours.

Royal Mail bosses have proposed that staff start half an hour later and then work on a Saturday afternoon to make up their hours.

Many staff said that offer was unfair as it would interfere with family life.

The CWU national executive is due to meet later to consider the deal that was thrashed out between the Royal Mail officials and senior union officials on Friday night.

The executive will then decide whether to approve it and recommend it to the union's 130,000 members.