> Glasgow Evening Times > > Post strike ends as new dispute looms > > By Josie Saunders > POSTAL workers today called off a wildcat strike which crippled a Glasgow > distribution centre while colleagues elsewhere in the city were preparing to > stage a 24-hour stoppage. > Almost 240 postmen and drivers at the Springburn sorting office met at 6am > and agreed to abandon their unofficial action, which disrupted yesterday�s > lunchtime home deliveries and left scores of firms without any post. > The row centres on the interpretation of a nationally agreed bonus scheme. > Union official Norrie Watson said: "Staff have returned to work pending > joint talks with management on Monday. > "We have set a deadline of next Friday for a satisfactory outcome." > But a 24-hour walk-out at the Lincoln Avenue office in Knightswood tonight > over back payments for meal breaks will hit deliveries tomorrow to addresses > in the G13 and G14 postcode areas of the city. > About 70 delivery staff were expected to walk out - crippling postal > services - in protest over part-time workers losing out on allowances. > They are being backed by the Communications Workers Union. > Earlier today, Mr Watson, the union�s Glasgow branch secretary, warned: > "It�s an official dispute which will go-ahead unless management do something > within the next few hours - and that seems unlikely." > Union members staged a similar 24-hour strike last week in Knights-wood, > Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife. > Today Royal Mail bosses condemned the action. > They claimed management and union leaders had struck a deal since the last > round of stoppages on November 17. > A spokesman said: "Knightswood is the only office in Glasgow where staff are > taking part in strike action but they will be worse off financially than if > they had accepted the pay offer." > The Knightswood posties had previously set up a picket line at the Lincoln > Avenue depot and are expected to so again tonight. > CWU Scottish divisional officer Mr Watson said: "The talks broke down so the > staff are now on strike. > "It is a peaceful demo but no one on the picket line want to do this. They > feel they have been left with no choice." > > > Edinburgh Evening News > > Tomorrow is D-day in posties' dispute > > THE results of a ballot on strike action which would cripple postal services > before Christmas should be announced tomorrow. > More than 2000 postal workers in the Edinburgh area are voting on industrial > action. The ballot ends tomorrow and the votes should be counted by early > afternoon, with an announcement soon afterwards. > The ballot comes after a series of unofficial actions in Edinburgh following > claims of management bullying. > As the ballot results are counted, union chiefs will meet with Royal Mail > management for talks aimed at avoiding a damaging strike. > A spokesman for the local branch of the Communication Workers Union said: " > Once the members have made their decision we will have to wait and see what > happens next." > If postal workers vote to go ahead with the action, official strikes could > begin on December 1. > CWU deputy general secretary John Keggie and Royal Mail manager in Scotland > Alex Gibb are due to hold talks tomorrow. > Both sides described similar talks last week as constructive. Mr Keggie said > the union wished to avoid a strike over Christmas. > Royal Mail management deny bullying and say staff are refusing to carry out > reasonable instructions. > The union claims that Royal Mail management in Edinburgh has adopted a > bullying style of management, leading to the present dispute. > A ballot for official industrial action was called after several unofficial > wildcat strikes last month. > A total of 350 posties walked out after a dispute at the Brunswick Road > postal depot. Other wildcat actions took place at Edinburgh Airport, > Prestonpans and Dunfermline. > Royal Mail management accused local CWU officials of not doing enough to > stop the wildcat strikes. > They lodged an official complaint with CWU HQ in London over the conduct of > local officials. > > > > Glasgow Evening Times > > 800 join councils walkout > > UNISON today stepped up its strike action over pay, which is crippling Scots > councils. > The biggest public services union said another 773 local authority workers > across Scotland had joined the 600 who walked out indefinitely at the > beginning of November. > The escalation came as Unison�s Scottish organiser, Joe Di Paola, warned > councils they risked causing a "flashpoint" if they brought in agencies to > do the work of striking employees. > Refuse collectors, housing administration staff, rent arrears officers and > mail room employees are among the latest workers who walked out after union > bosses rejected the latest pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local > Authorities. > East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire Councils are among those hit by > today�s action. > School janitors and council hall keepers have been called out in East > Renfrewshire, but most schools are still open. > The number of councils hit by the strike jumped from 19 to 26, out of 32, > but Glasgow has not been targeted. > So far only 26 committee clerks and clerical workers from Glasgow District > Court are involved in the long-running dispute. > But union leaders in Glasgow today vowed to call a third wave of staff out > in mid-December if Cosla failed to improve the 6.1 percent two-year pay > deal. > Angela Lynes, Glasgow branch secretary and vice-chairman of Unison�s > negotiating team, said: "Cosla has decided to impose their revised offer > even, though we voted not to accept it, so we have decided to escalate our > action. > "Previously we focused on smaller departments but now we want to make an > impact, so we will be calling more departments out on strike next month and > Glasgow will be one of the councils directly affected." > A Cosla spokeswoman insisted the pay offer would not be revised because > there was "no more money on the table". > > > Glasgow Herald > > Judge bans strike by council staff > > BRUCE McKAIN and JOHN MacCALMAN > A JUDGE yesterday banned a planned strike by council workers in Dundee after > being told that trade union Unison had failed to carry out the proper > procedures for calling out its members. > About 100 staff were due to start strike action today as an escalation of a > long-running pay dispute. > Last night the union expressed dismay that a Labour-controlled council would > take such action against it. > Angela Lynes, a Unison spokeswoman, said: "I can't believe that a > Labour-controlled authority would use the anti-trade union laws against a > trade union taking part in a legitimate dispute. We will be seeking further > legal advice tomorrow and hope to have the interim interdict recalled. > "It was claimed we hadn't been sufficiently specific when we notified the > council of the groups we intended taking out, but we felt we had given them > enough information." > Unison had planned to target the council's finance, revenues, information > technology and support services along with Lawside Academy as part of a > second wave of selective action starting today. > Roddy Dunlop, for Dundee city council, told Lord Clarke at the Court of > Session yesterday that Unison had given notice of a strike by 97 members in > four different departments. > However, the number of trade union members in the departments was far > greater than that and the council could not tell who would be involved. > Unison had failed to meet a legal requirement to give enough information > about the employees involved to allow the local authority to make > contingency plans to cope with their absence from work. > Mr Dunlop added: "The disruption caused by this unlawful strike will be > enormous. It may affect the district court, the fraud section of the > benefits office and the payment of benefits." > "Employees in potentially vital areas will be withdrawn without provision > having been made for them to be replaced. If proper notice is given, this > strike cannot be stopped but in the absence of proper notice the council is > entitled to relief." > Lord Clarke granted an order against Unison which bans it from inducing > employees of Dundee city council taking part in the strike. > Unison leaders yesterday disclosed that a third wave of selective action was > being planned for mid-December. Details of the action have yet to be > approved by the union's national industrial action committee, but a union > source indicated yesterday that the action would be "on a much grander > scale" than what had taken place so far. > Since November 1 Unison selective action has disrupted council services > throughout the country, perhaps the most serious effect being seen in > Glasgow where around 3000 cases due to be dealt with by Glasgow District > Court, which is administered by the city council, have had to be abandoned > because of the industrial action. > Meanwhile, postal deliveries in Glasgow are expected to operate as normal > today after disruption yesterday caused by an unofficial strike at the > Springburn sorting centre. > > > BBC News Online > > No deal in council strike talks > > Talks between unions and local authorities trying to settle a pay dispute > have ended without a deal being reached. > The negotiations were held on Thursday as 700 more workers were called out > by public workers' union Unison. > They joined 600 staff who have been on indefinite strike for more than three > weeks. > The union said talks with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities > (Cosla) at the conciliation service Acas had failed to reach an agreement. > The negotiations centre around a pay deal worth 6.1% over two years, which > the union has rejected. > Cosla has already warned there is no more money in the pot. > The strikes have brought considerable disruption to council services across > Scotland. > Almost 4,000 tonnes of uncollected rubbish has been piling up in the streets > in East Lothian. > There have been similar problems in Midlothian. > Following pleas over the risk to public health this creates, the union has > proposed that the refuse staff return to work in East Lothian, where action > will be switched to target other council services. > There is concern that similar problems could arise in Moray, where cleansing > department staff have started indefinite strike action. > The escalation of action means a total of 32 councils are being affected in > departments ranging from IT to refuse collection and rents. > The action has also led to hundreds of court cases being dropped at Glasgow > District Court. > Cosla vice-president Pat Watters stressed there was no more money available > for the pay deal and hoped that the two sides could achieve progress. > But he said: "I find it a bit strange that the day we go into talks we see > an escalation of the action. I don't think it is the way to welcome talks > like this." > Unison local government spokesman Joe Di Paola said Cosla needed to make > some sort of movement to break the log-jam. > He said: "I am not going in there with a mindset which says we will dig into > our entrenched position. > "We will have to listen to what each other has to say and we have to get a > resolution to the undoubted difficulties that this is causing in Scotland." > Dundee City Council has been granted an interdict blocking a proposed > walkout by 100 staff. > The council claimed at the Court of Session in Edinburgh that Unison had a > statutory requirement to give enough information about who was going on > strike to allow the local authority to make contingency plans. > The local authority was told last week that the union was calling out > members in the council's support services section which includes the legal > department, district court and revenues sections. > Unison did not contest the action but is expected to return to court seeking > to have it overturned. > The union has already held three one-day stoppages. > > > -------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~>
