Post union ‘plotting to wreck election’

Voters warned ‘politically calculated’ strike might mean ballots fail to arrive in time for Dec 12

POSTAL unions are today accused of making a “politically calculated” threat to wreck the election by refusing to deliver millions of postal votes as part of a dispute over pay and bonuses.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) last night revealed its latest strategy in industrial action was to refuse to deliver postal votes or campaign material unless Royal Mail agrees a new deal on jobs and conditions.

Last night, returning officers warned that people planning to vote by post should consider whether to opt for a proxy vote instead, amid fears that millions of ballot papers may go uncounted.

Andrea Leadsom, the Business Secretary, suggested the CWU had deliberately timed the action to boost Labour’s chances at the ballot box.

Studies suggest that elderly people are more likely to request a postal vote, while nearly half of Tory voters are aged 65 or over.

“The timing of this threat is clearly politically calculated and would disrupt both the election and people’s Christmas deliveries,” Mrs Leadsom said.

The disruption would be “a taste of things to come” if Jeremy Corbyn were to be elected prime minister next month, she added.

Royal Mail postal workers are regularly paid a bonus at each general election to compensate for the increased workload created by campaign material and postal voting.

At the last election in 2017 they got an average of £267 each, but the CWU is now demanding an increase as part of a wider industrial dispute. Earlier this month the CWU’S 140,000 members voted by 97 per cent in favour of a nationwide strike, saying the company had failed to adhere to a deal on pensions and conditions agreed last year.

Royal Mail has written to trade union bosses to plead with them not to “threaten the integrity of our democracy” by going ahead with the action.

Talks between the two sides are due to end on Friday, when union bosses are expected to announce the dates of any strike action.

More than eight million people – a fifth of voters – cast their vote through the post in the 2017 election.

Experts have warned that any significant disruption to the postal voting system might leave the final result open to legal action.

Mrs Leadsom told The Daily Telegraph: “CWU’S threat to ruin Christmas and disrupt the postal system during the general election is just a preview of things to come if Jeremy Corbyn is ever allowed near the keys to No10.”

Royal Mail says it has honoured the 2018 agreement with the union, with two pay increases, a working hours reduction and joint lobbying of the Government for a new pension scheme.

Terry Pullinger, the postal deputy general secretary of the CWU, said it was now “nearly certain” that a strike would go ahead, but denied any attempt to fix the election on behalf of Labour.

“We’re talking about a substantial action that would, of course, mean refusing to deliver postal votes and campaign leaflets during that time,” he said.

“But it’s the Royal Mail who are damaging democracy by refusing to listen to its members, not us. Striking before the election will focus people’s minds on the value of the Royal Mail.

“We do support Jeremy, but the idea that we’re doing this to help Labour is ridiculous and doesn’t stand up to any form of analysis.”

Returning officers have warned

concerned voters that they should examine whether to vote by proxy instead of risking sending their ballot through the post.

Peter Stanyon, the chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, said: “We are going into the unknown. This could have a massive effect on the election.

“We don’t want millions of people to cancel their postal votes automatically, because the postal strike could be cancelled at the last minute.

“But people should make a judgment of the risk, and if they want to withdraw their postal vote the decision will need to be made reasonably quickly.

“There’s a danger that postal vote forms could be stuck in Royal Mail depots. If they don’t make it to the returning officer before the deadline, they’ll be invalid.”

British expats have also been advised not to cast their ballot by post to avoid the risk of disruption. British in Europe, a group representing hundreds of thousands of British citizens abroad, told its members: “With possible postal strikes, you are best to assign an in-person proxy – and time is running out.”

Royal Mail told the CWU that if it removed the threat of strike action for the rest of 2019, the company would enter talks without preconditions. But Dave Ward, the general secretary of the CWU, called Royal Mail’s offer a “stunt” that the union would not fall for.

Royal Mail said the delivery of election mail in the event of a strike would be its “number one priority”.

A source said managers had volunteered to step in to help deliver postal votes and campaign leaflets, while hundreds of agency workers would be recruited to plug gaps.

Shane O’riordain, Royal Mail managing director of regulation and corporate affairs, said: “In the event of industrial action … election mail will be our number one priority. We will invest significant resource ... to ensure a seamless process for the handling of postal election material.

“A binding commitment from the CWU to remove the threat of strike action during the period of any general election is vital to ensuring a seamless electoral process in relation to postal votes.”