8:23am Monday 26th October 2009
By Richard Harris
THE postal strike is yet another pressure on small businesses at a time when they can ill-afford it, according to the chairman of Selby Chamber of Trade.
Geoff Gordon said that because there was no post on Friday, there were no cheques and therefore no cash flow.
Mr Gordon said: “Every business is going to suffer from that.
“On top of that, it gives certain businesses the chance to say ‘I’ve sent the cheque, it’s in the post’.
“Because of these things, it means there’s a hiccup in people’s cash flows and the banks are not the friendliest people at the moment. Just from that point of view, it’s made things very difficult.”
He said that from a personal perspective, he thought it was suicidal for the postal workers to down tools in a recession.
But Selby MP John Grogan said he supported the strikers and joined them on the picket line on Friday.
The Labour MP said: “I’ve supported the Communication Workers Union (CWU) down the years to keep a publicly-owned Royal Mail and the postal workers I know want a successful Royal Mail.
“Workers realise it has to be modernised but I think they have been subject to bullying from management.”
But Mr Grogan stressed he wanted the dispute to be brought to a resolution as soon as possible.
Adam Crozier, the chief executive of Royal Mail, said he hoped “common sense” will prevail when leaders of the CWU resumed talks at a meeting organised by the TUC today.
Up to 120,000 workers are set to stage a fresh round of strikes from Thursday over jobs and conditions.
If today’s talks fail to force a breakthrough, Selby post men and women are due to strike again on Saturday.
Paul Clays, the CWU spokesman for Selby, said the striking workers had enjoyed massive support from the general public.
He said: “In a national poll, 50 per cent of the general public supported the postal workers and only 20 per cent supported the Royal Mail.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/trade_directory/