Tribunal for sacked staff

Louise Nousratpour in Bournemouth
Tuesday May 25, 2010
The Morning Star

Sacked postal workers are taking Royal Mail to an employment tribunal next month over management "victimisation" and unfair dismissal, a CWU conference fringe meeting heard on Tuesday.

A couple of months after the 2007 postal dispute, 12 CWU activists at Burslem delivery office in Stoke-on-Trent were sacked on what the union says were trumped-up charges.

The sackings triggered a five-week strike by CWU members at their delivery office, forcing bosses to agree to an independent appeals process which led to six of the affected workers being reinstated.

Of the remaining six, two have since left the industry for other jobs and the other four are taking their case to a tribunal, fully backed by the union.

One of the four, Paul Malyan, told the CWU fringe meeting in Bournemouth on Tuesday that his three-year battle for reinstatement was no longer just a "personal" issue but one that concerned all union activists.

He added that the ordeal had "solidified" his principles as a trade unionist fighting for workers' collective interests.

CWU deputy general secretary for the postal sector Dave Ward said that the workers had been targeted because they led a "strong and organised" workplace.

He noted that the primary aim of the tribunal was to "get them their jobs back," but admitted that the result could go either way.

The tribunal is expected to start on June 21 and will last three weeks.