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Sacked postal workers win battle to clear names

24 March 2008

CWU union representative Steven Gill and sacked colleague John Doran have won their appeals against dismissal and the two workers, employed at the main sorting centre in Cowley, have got their jobs back.

The union activists were sacked during a bitter national and local industrial dispute last summer (see previous article on this website and the more detailed article in the Leys Independent). Both men were dismissed on the word of an off duty community police officer—PC Brent Jackson of Cowley Police Station.

Following a complaint by the victimised men to the Police and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), it transpired that PC Jackson actually has a personal stake in the Watlington Post Office franchise and he was concerned that his business interests was being picketed—in a lawful manner—during the legal national postal strike. The police described the officer’s statement to Royal Mail as a ‘minor conversation’ with Mr Doran. Howeverm, this interference by the police officer into internal industrial relations matters actualy led to the dismissal of the two postmen and subsequently resulted in a week’s unofficial action at the Cowley Sorting Office, in support of these sacked workers.

Noel Fay, representing one of the dismissed workers, said: ‘The two cases were full of interference and collusion by the police and senior management, who were brought in from all over the country to do the dirty work.’

Noel said: ‘It is disgraceful that Oxford has seen union reps and activists sacked by managers because of false accusations. Post Office workers do not offer blind support to their colleagues but in these two cases there’s not a shred of evidence that the two post workers have done what they’ve been accused of.

‘This was a case of union busting by rogue managers intent on bashing the CWU in Oxford. The sackings were used to target union representatives and those taking a strong pro-union position for the national dispute over pay and conditions. John and Steven were simply victims of a “scalp hunting” mentality. The police involvement has damaged confidence and post workers fear relationships with Thames Valley Police are poor due to its treatment of and approach towards postal workers.’

The decision to close the Cowley Mail Centre and transfer the work to Swindon was a knee-jerk reaction to the strike action in support of the workers and is viewed by most postal workers as an unnecessary escalation of the situation at Royal Mail and will lead to a worsening of the already dire industrial relations there.