LONDON (AP) -- Postal workers across Britain went on strike Friday, in the first industrial action at Royal Mail for a decade.þþAround 130,000 members of the Communication Workers Union began a 24-hour walkout at 3 a.m. local time after talks earlier in the week failed to resolve a pay dispute.þþWorkers have rejected a 2.5 percent pay increase offer from the company and are concerned that Royal Mail's modernization plans will result in thousands of job losses.þþRoyal Mail countered that the union was seeking a 27 percent increase which it ''simply can't afford'' and said that it must change to compete with rival mail companies.þþThe company, known worldwide for its distinctive red letter boxes, lost the last vestiges of its 350-year-old monopoly on letter delivery in January last year when postal regulator Postcomm issued 13 operators with seven-year licenses to operate rival delivery services for all letters and parcels.þþChief Executive Adam Crozier said that the company had recently lost an 8 million pound ($16 million) contract with online retailer Amazon because of its failure to modernize.þþManagers were drafted Friday to make some special deliveries, but people were urged to avoid posting any mail.þþThe union said it would seek approval for more strike days if agreement could not be reached on pay and the modernization plans.þþ
Source: NY Times
