In England, the Communication Workers Union has begun raising money for a strike fund as negotiations with Royal Mail reached a deadlock on Oct. 28. The week prior, CWU called for a two-day national strike, a move which the London Chamber of Commerce estimated to have cost the city $500 million pounds.
General Secretary of the CWU, Billy Hayes, stated that workers are facing drastic increases in hours and workloads, and a decrease in real wages. For their part, Royal Mail has responded belligerently, calling on union leaders to “shut up” and stating that they were making “nonsensical” assertions.
A second wave of three 24-hour strikes started on Oct. 29. Over 40,000 workers will sacrifice several days pay. Other unions, including Unison, the public sector workers union, have started coordinating solidarity payments to help offset the cost of the strike.
