Royal Mail workers have voted to down tools in a dispute over pay and conditions in a "staggering" result.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) backed strikes by 98.7% on a turnout of more than 72%.
It follows a previous ballot with 97.6% of union members backing industrial action on a turnout of 77% in July. Workers are due to walk out August 26 and 31 and September 8 and 9 in this separate row over pay.
The union claims that the latest ballot comes in the face of attempts to force an “erosion of workplace rights” as the company brings forward modernisation plans.
However, the Royal Mail has claimed that the plans will "secure future jobs" and warned the company was losing money daily.
The CWU has raised concerns over changes to terms and conditions that would come under the modernisation plans.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said it was a “staggering” result which sends a clear message to bosses about the workers stance on the changes.
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar urges Labour MSPs to defy Keir Starmer and join picket lines
“We will do everything possible to see if we can make progress but the Royal Mail management has to change its position,” Mr Ward said.
“If they don’t, then we will take strike action.”
The four strikes in the coming weeks will be the first national walkouts of postal staff, including delivery workers and those in sorting offices, since 2013.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Instead of engaging meaningfully on change that will secure future jobs, the CWU has decided to ballot against change.
“We are losing £1 million a day and we need to change what we are doing to fix the situation and protect jobs.
“This change is also needed to support the pay package we have offered to CWU grade colleagues, worth up to 5.5%. This is the biggest increase we have offered for many years and the CWU have rejected it.
“This would add around £230 million to Royal Mail’s annual people costs when the business is already loss-making.
“The CWU has put forward ideas for change that would cost over £1 billion while not delivering the changes needed to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry.
“These actions do not represent a union that supports change. We wanted to meet this week but were disappointed the CWU couldn’t make it – we hope to meet next week. The CWU have their heads in the sand and are failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
“Royal Mail can have a bright future but we can’t achieve that by living in the past. Customers want more parcels, bigger parcels, delivered the next day, including Sundays, and more environmentally friendly options.
“By modernising, we can offer more of what our customers want at a price they are willing to pay, all whilst protecting jobs on the best terms and conditions in the industry.”
READ MORE: 'Waste will pile up during Edinburgh Festival', warns union as council strike starts tomorrow
Mr Ward said: “Today’s result is another rejection of those at the top of Royal Mail who should consider their positions.
“Postal workers are being pushed to the edge, but there can be no doubt they will fight the planned erosion of their workplace rights with determination.
“This country is growing sick of a business elite who are completely out of touch with ordinary people.”
CWU deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger said: “Our members, who worked miracles during the pandemic, are being treated with complete contempt.
“The ongoing attempts of Royal Mail Group to whittle away people’s hard won working conditions will be met with fierce opposition.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here