Royal Mail wins bid to halt Christmas postal strikes

Royal Mail has won its legal battle to prevent a postal strike after the High Court backed its application for an injunction.

The decision averts the possibility of strikes in the run-up to the general election and Christmas.

Last month, 100,000 Royal Mail staff were balloted and voted to take action over job security and terms.

But Royal Mail argued that the ballot had “potential irregularities” and was null and void.

Members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) voted by 97% in favour of a nationwide strike, saying the company had failed to adhere to an employment deal agreed last year.

Royal Mail denied this and said it had evidence of CWU members coming under pressure to vote “yes” in the ballot.

This included, the company said, union members “being encouraged to open their ballot papers on site, mark them as ‘yes’, with their colleagues present and filming or photographing them doing so, before posting their ballots together at their workplace postboxes”.

Royal Mail’s procedures state employees cannot open their mail at delivery offices without the prior authorisation of their manager.