Royal Mail will recruit up to 30,000 temporary staff to deal with upcoming strikes by postal workers and the Christmas rush, the service has said.The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called national strikes on Thursday and Friday over pay and reforms. Royal Mail said it would hire twice the usual number of extra pre-Christmas staff to cut the impact of "unjustified and irresponsible" industrial action. But the CWU described the decision as "a stupid move". "I think it's something that's not going to help resolve the dispute - it's going to inflame things," CWU general secretary Billy Hayes told the BBC. But speaking on the Andrew Marr programme, he stopped short of describing the temporary workers as strike-breakers. Employing extra people to do the work of staff who are on strike is illegal under employment law.
Royal Mail will recruit up to 30,000 temporary staff to deal with upcoming strikes by postal workers and the Christmas rush, the service has said.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called national strikes on Thursday and Friday over pay and reforms.
Royal Mail said it would hire twice the usual number of extra pre-Christmas staff to cut the impact of "unjustified and irresponsible" industrial action.
But the CWU described the decision as "a stupid move".
"I think it's something that's not going to help resolve the dispute - it's going to inflame things," CWU general secretary Billy Hayes told the BBC.
But speaking on the Andrew Marr programme, he stopped short of describing the temporary workers as strike-breakers.
Employing extra people to do the work of staff who are on strike is illegal under employment law.
Union leaders today condemned Royal Mail's plans to recruit an extra 30,000 temporary staff to combat a postal strike beginning this week and warned that the move would face a legal challenge.Billy Hayes, leader of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which has called national strikes for Thursday and Friday, described Royal Mail's announcement of the biggest recruitment drive in its history "to help keep the mail moving" as symptomatic of a divisive management culture."I think it's a stupid move, more than anything else. It's something that's not going to help resolve the dispute. It's going to inflame things," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.As householders and businesses braced themselves for massive disruption, the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, said he was "beyond anger" with the union for obstructing change and modernisation.
Union leaders today condemned Royal Mail's plans to recruit an extra 30,000 temporary staff to combat a postal strike beginning this week and warned that the move would face a legal challenge.
Billy Hayes, leader of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which has called national strikes for Thursday and Friday, described Royal Mail's announcement of the biggest recruitment drive in its history "to help keep the mail moving" as symptomatic of a divisive management culture.
"I think it's a stupid move, more than anything else. It's something that's not going to help resolve the dispute. It's going to inflame things," he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
As householders and businesses braced themselves for massive disruption, the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, said he was "beyond anger" with the union for obstructing change and modernisation.
And NuLab wonders where its voters went...
