Wetherspoon to create 10,000 new jobs

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon plans to create an extra 10,000 jobs by opening 250 new pubs across the UK over the next five years.

It will spend £250 million on the new outlets in locations including Liverpool, Newcastle, New Malden, Leominster, Livingston, Otley and Sheffield.

The company already employs 21,000 staff and has 743 pubs in the UK. The new roles will include management positions as well as positions for bar and kitchen staff.

Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin said: 'Our pubs are extremely popular and we wish to build on their success by opening more.

'I am confident that the new pubs will be an asset to their respective towns and cities.'

The announcement comes days after the Beer and Pub Association reported that an average of 50 pubs a week in Britain are being forced to close.

The chain appears to be bucking the current economic trend and recently announced record sales in the year to the end of July.

The group saw increased takings of 1.2 per cent in the year to the end of July and reported sales of £955.1 million during the same period – a record since the chain was incorporated in 1983.

Lessons from the recessions in the 1980s and 90s are behind this prosperity, according to the chain, by 'concentrating on the key ingredients of standard, service, staff training and incentives.'

Wetherspoon, which opened its first pub in 1979, opened 39 pubs in the last financial year and are expected to open a similar number in the current financial year.

Bookstore Borders goes into administration

The bookstore Borders has gone into administration citing increased levels of internet competition for its downturn in takings.

There had been rumours the book retailer was set to make the announcement this week after it failed to find a buyer to secure its future.

A statement released by the insolvency firm MCR on Thursday confirmed the company, which owns some 45 Borders and Books Etc stores across Britain, had gone into administration.

The announcement places doubts over the security of over 1,150 jobs.

MCR said the business would continue to trade while a buyer was sought for all or some of the company's stores.

A statement from the insolvency firm states: 'The administration follows the continuing pressure on the retailer from increased internet competition, which has accelerated over the last year with sales levels falling further behind prior year levels.

'As a result the company has suffered from severe cash flow pressure and several of the company's suppliers have placed the business on stop or reduced credit limits. A number of credit insurers have also reduced cover to the company.'

Joint administrator Phil Duffy confirmed all stores would remain open for business as normal while a review of the company's affairs was completed and a buyer was sought, adding there had already been some interest.

'All outstanding employee wages have been paid up to date and ongoing wages for retained staff will continue to be paid as an expense of the administration,' he said.

'The appointment of MCR as administrators to the business is indicative of the weakening position of book retailers in the current market with competition on bestsellers from supermarkets and the growing strength of the digital and on-line markets in this sector.'

The firm's website has stopped taking new orders earlier this week following reports WHSmith had walked away from a takeover deal last Friday.

The chain was sold to the private equity firm Valco earlier this year.

US unemployment over 10%

More than ten per cent of the United States population are currently out of work, according to the latest unemployment figures.

The new figures, which showed 10.2 per cent of Americans are jobless, mean unemployment levels are at their highest since 1983.

It is a rise of 0.4 per cent from September's figures, with around 15.7 million employable Americans looking for work.

In response to the news, president Barack Obama said he was hoping to introduce new stimulus packages to bolster the economy, including additional tax cuts for small business to create jobs and potential road and bridge-building programmes.

These will all be additional measures on top of the recent bill signed into law, which Mr Obama said would 'help grow our economy, save and create new jobs, and provide relief to struggling families and businesses'.

'I won't let up until the Americans who want to find work can find work, and until all Americans can earn enough to raise their families and keep their businesses open,' he added.

Instances of workplace bullying double

New statistics have revealed a record number of British workers have been bullied in the last six months.

Figures from the union Unison show that more than a third of the 7,000 workers who took part in a survey have experienced bullying over the last half a year, double the number recorded in 1997.

Among the top complaints were rudeness, criticism, excessive work monitoring, intimidation, exclusion and withholding information.

Of those questioned, 80 per cent said the abuse had affected their physical and mental health and a third had decided to take time off, or even left their jobs as a result.

Dave Prentis, Unison's general secretary, said: 'The fact that bullying has doubled in the past decade is shocking.

'Workers have the right to earn a decent living in a safe environment. They need to be treated with respect and not forced to take time off work because bullying has made them ill.

'Only last week figures showed that 13.7 million working days are lost every year as a result of stress and depression in the workplace.

'It makes sound moral and financial sense to look after your workforce.'

Mr Prentis said the union would continue with its calls for the government to revise the current dignity in the workplace bill to include an anti-bullying policy.

Today's research also coincides with Ban Bullying at Work Day as the union tries to encourage employers and employees to make a stand against bullies.

Postal strikes called off at last minute

The nationwide postal strikes which were due to take place tomorrow and Monday have been called off.

The third round of the industrial action was set to involve 121,000 Royal Mail workers and was due to be the most disruptive of the strike actions yet.

Sources from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) leaked reports earlier today to the BBC that said strike action would not go ahead. This has now been confirmed by TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, who said: 'After intensive negotiations an agreement has been reached.

'The agreement reached today is a very important step forward.

'Royal Mail will now be free of disruption up to and including the Christmas period. I am in no doubt that the lack of trust between unions and management has been a barrier to an agreement being reached at an earlier stage.'

However, he added the disagreement wasn't over, and further talks would be held at a later date between the postal service and the unions.

The CWU have been in talks with the Royal Mail at the Trade Union Congress (TUC) headquarters in London all week.

Workers have been striking over modernisation plans, pay and job losses. The Royal Mail has shed 63,000 frontline postal staff in recent years, and says it needs to cut more jobs as part of continuing modernisation plans.

Following the strikes over the last few weeks there is now a backlog of three million letters. The CWU had threatened to take Royal Mail to court tomorrow to prevent agency workers from being employed during the industrial action.

Sharpest rise in permanent jobs for 2 years

Last month saw the sharpest rise in permanent staff appointments for two years, new figures show.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG 'Report on Jobs' found October represented the third consecutive month of growth in employment.

The latest rises were the sharpest in two years for permanent positions and 16 months in temporary recruitment.

The rise in placements was supported by a rise in job vacancies in October. Demand for permanent staff grew for the first time in seventeen months, while demand for temps increased again following September's slight gain.

Researchers found that in both cases nursing and medical workers were the most sought-after type of employee.

During last month, permanent salaries fell only slightly and at the slowest rate in the current 13-month decline, the figures show.

Temporary pay also fell, but again at the slowest rate in a year.

Commenting on the research, Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, says: 'These figures show that the UK jobs market is on the road to recovery, with signs of improvement for the third month in a row.

'The demand for permanent recruitment is returning as employers start to hire people at an accelerating rate.'

Unemployment currently stands at just under 2.5 million and for some time financial analysts have predicted it could reach and even exceed three million in 2010.

However, Mr Green claims last month's figures may require those estimates to be reconsidered.

'Based on the latest findings, we anticipate that unemployment will not reach three million in 2010 as some predicted,' he said.

'This again highlights the benefits of the UK's flexible labour market and a balanced attitude towards employment legislation in terms of keeping people in work.'

Bernard Brown, head of business services at KPMG adds: 'The UK jobs market looks healthier today than at any time in the last two years which is, of course, encouraging news. Sectors like accounting and banking lead the recovery and we may well have reached the tipping point into growth, driven by returning confidence in the private sector.

'However, we are still to see the impact of the looming public sector recession on the jobs market, which will play out over the first 12 months of a new parliamentary term.'

Union welcomes GM decision to keep Opel

The union Unite has welcomed the decision by General Motors (GM) to cancel plans to sell a majority stake in its European business Opel.

The US car giant announced on Tuesday it had decided to keep hold of its European arm, which includes the UK brand Vauxhall, due to the 'improving business environment'.

GM had previously agreed to sell Opel and Vauxhall to the Canadian car parts company Magna.

The surprise U-turn will anger many in Europe due to the months of negotiations and the €4.5 billion (£4 billion) in loans pledged by the German government to Magna.

However, the decision was initially welcomed by the union representing the UK Vauxhall workers, with Unite secretary general Tony Woodley describing it as a 'fantastic decision'.

The deal had threatened thousand of jobs around Europe and its collapse was roundly supported at the factories in Ellesmere Port and Luton, which employ around 5,500 workers.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Woodley said: 'We are absolutely delighted that General Motors has taken the right decision for General Motors and I believe they have taken the right decision for Britain and the workers.'

In other TV interviews he said the decision not to sell was the right thing to do and better than breaking up the company, despite the previous deal struck with Magna.

The news may not be the complete end of uncertainty for workers though with reports GM still plans on restructuring its European arm.

Business secretary Lord Mandelson has called for early discussions with GM to discover how their plans might affect British workers.

More needed to get Britain's young into work

Despite bi

llions of pounds being spent each year on benefits and grants much more is needed to help Britain's young into work, council leaders have warned.

The Local Government Association (LGA) is set to call for radical reforms to the way public money is spent to cut top-down targets and waste so more can be done to help young people who are excluded from the workforce.

The council leaders point to the fact Britain currently has one of the highest rates of teenagers out of work or education compared with other developed nations.

A new study by the LGA, in partnership with the Centre for Social Justice, recommends councils should be the ones to determine who gets Education Maintenance Allowances and decide benefit rules for under-25s in local areas.

The authors of the study state replacing national programmes of benefit and support would cut bureaucracy and as a result the money could be targeted to reach those who would take best advantage of it.

Cllr Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, is due to say later today: 'As children we have dreams of being super-heroes, actors or astronauts – no child dreams of becoming unemployed with few prospects or qualifications.

'As a former teacher I know how it feels to look out at each expectant face in a new class at the start of term and know that, for some of our young people, that is what the future holds.

'To have nearly a million of our young people not in any form of education or work is a deeply worrying waste of talent. That's nearly a million young people stuck in a rut, not able to get on and do something with their lives and not contributing to the economy.'

She will add young people around the country are struggling to get their foot on the career leader due to a lack of recruitment with the unemployment rate standing at almost 2.5 million plus the fact they are usually the first to be let go when cuts are made.

'The billions of pounds being paid out each year in benefits is simply money down the drain if ways aren't found of using that money to help people change their lives for the better,' Cllr Eaton will say.

'Very few people want to depend on benefits to support their families or put food on the table, but the current system too often works against them.

'These pots of money can and must have more of an impact on the lives of young people across the country. Councils know where the work opportunities are, and they know what barriers prevent teenagers reaching their full potential in their local areas.

'It is not good enough to have our children grow up in a world where their potential is wasted by a system which doesn't give them the right support at the right times. Local government has the ideas to put that right, now we need the powers to make that happen.'

As well a reform in the way money is allocated, the LGA has also called for an expansion of careers services to provide fully independent guidance based on knowledge of particular areas.

RBS set to cut 3,700 jobs across UK

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced it will cut 3,700 jobs across the UK in the next two years, ahead of a major announcement on its future.

The bank said it hoped many of those losing their jobs would take voluntary redundancy, citing cutting costs as the reason for the job losses.

RBS added the move was unconnected to the announcements about the selling off of many of its constituent parts, along with Lloyds, from the government.

Some 10,000 job cuts in the bank's investment banking and office activities had already been announced, as well as 6,000 redundancies overseas.

The redundancies amount to about 14 per cent of the total workforce at NatWest and RBS branches.

Staff were informed of the redundancies yesterday, and the bank is believed to have been in discussions with Unite, the union.

Consumer confidence at 18-month high

There is slightly more positivity in the consumer market place but major job fears remain, a study has shown today.

The consumer Confidence Index released today by market research company Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed confidence had risen to its highest level for 18 months.

The BRC were quick to point out that their figure of 75 for October, up from an all-time low of 65 last April, was still weak when compared to figures two or three years ago.

Justin Sargent, managing director at Nielsen said: 'When we saw confidence pick up between April and June we felt there was a definite and tangible change in the mood of the nation, however, we were cautious as quite often when economies rise out of recession there can be false starts, blips.

'This latest poll shows that the confidence of the nation continues to improve, though consumers remain very guarded and we are still a long way from the confidence levels we saw prior to the economic meltdown.'

Interestingly the poll found evidence to suggest lifestyles and habits have changed for many people in the UK following the recession, with 70 per cent of people claiming that they have changed their spending in order to save on household costs. Cost-cutting measures cited included:

Spending less on new clothes (68 per cent)

Trying to save on gas and electricity (66 per cent)

Cutting down on takeaways (64 per cent)

Switching to cheaper grocery brands (59 per cent)

British Retail Consortium director general Stephen Robertson commented: 'There's no question the general mood of customers is better than a year ago, when conditions were dire, but improvement has been slow so far.

'Half of consumers believe we'll still be in recession in a year's time. More than half are worried about jobs and their own finances and that will hold back full scale retail recovery well into next year.'

Debt was found to currently be Britons' biggest worry, with 15 per cent of respondents agreeing it was their chief concern, up from ten per cent a year ago.

Graduates hit by drop in public sector jobs

Fewer public sector job opportunities due to reduced government spending is leaving graduates exposed to unemployment, a thinktank has said today.

According to the Centre for Cities over half of all recent UK graduates work in the public sector, but their research shows up to 290,000 of these jobs could be lost by 2014.

The researchers have warned that over the next few years there will be a dwindling number of public sector jobs, and unless highly skilled jobs are created, cities will continue to see graduate unemployment rise.

Dermot Finch, chief executive of the Centre for Cities said: 'In a public spending squeeze UK graduates will continue to find it tough to take their first step on the employment ladder.

'The public sector will not drive graduate jobs growth over the next decade. This means more private sector job opportunities will be needed to bridge the gap.'

One in four workers in the UK's cities are employed by the public sector, and six months after completing their studies 52 per cent of all recent graduates work in public service positions.

Figures from the Centre for Cities show Tyne and Wear, Greater Birmingham and Leeds have seen the largest increases in graduate unemployment of England's major cities this year. Graduate unemployment in Tyne and Wear has nearly doubled over the past 12 months.

Second day of postal strikes begins

A second day of nationwide postal strikes began this morning with delivery and collection workers at Royal Mail staging a mass walkout.

Around 78,000 members of staff began industrial action at 04:00 BST.

The strike action follows the 24-hour walkout by mail centre staff and postal drivers on Thursday.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) also announced late yesterday that there will be further strikes taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week.

Gordon Brown has called the strike action, over working conditions and plans to modernise the Royal Mail, as 'self-defeating' and urged both management and the work force to continue talks to resolve the dispute.

Union bosses claim to have offered 'unconditional' talks at the conciliation service Acas with Royal Mail, maintaining that further strikes can be avoided through negotiations.

Royal Mail on the other hand has described next week's strike action as 'appalling'.

The talks though appear deadlocked with Dave Ward, CWU's deputy leader, accusing business secretary Lord Mandelson of interfering in the negotiations and external forces of attempting to derail any chance of an agreement.

Nationwide postal strikes formally begin

Nationwide postal strikes have begun today after last-minute talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) collapsed.

Some 42,000 mail centre staff and postal drivers around the country began strike action at 04:00 BST this morning.

Tomorrow around 78,000 delivery and collection staff will follow suit. Union leaders have warned further strike action will also be announced shortly.

Yesterday the CWU accused business secretary Lord Mandelson of working with Royal Mail to 'undermine the dispute'.

The union's deputy leader Dave Ward said in a press conference on Wednesday every time progress appeared to be being made 'external forces' deliberately attempted to undermine any form of agreement.

Union leaders claim the industrial action is in response to current working conditions and plans to modernise Royal Mail.

The government has continued to criticise the strike action, while Conservative leader David Cameron accused Gordon Brown of a lack of 'courage and leadership' over the dispute at prime minister's questions on Wednesday.

The prime minister has described the walkouts as 'counterproductive'.

Postal strikes to go ahead as talks fail

Postal strikes will go ahead this week, starting at midnight tonight and ending at midnight on Friday.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced the strikes this evening, after talks with Royal Mail failed to reach an agreement.

The CWU blamed the chairmen and senior managers of Royal Mail and business secretary Lord Mandelson for not taking part in the talks, inviting them to 'get your hands dirty and get in the room' to resolve the dispute.

At least 120,000 members of CWU will walk our over the next two days over pay, conditions and modernisation.

Marathon talks between the CWU and the Royal Mail this week had hoped to prevent the strikes from happening, but failed to resolve the matter.

Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the CWU, said: 'I was hoping today to announce that we had made sufficient progress to call off the strike action.

'We did make progress. We wanted to end this dispute as soon as possible.

'We had a letter from the chairman of Royal Mail this morning. [It was] basically a veto on what had been agreed.

'But every time we think we are making progress there are external forces coming in to stop us from making an agreement.'

The CWU blamed the chairmen of Royal Mail and Lord Mandelson for the break down of the talks. The CWU quoted Lord Mandelson as saying he had no confidence with the board of Royal Mail.

Billy Hayes, the general secretary of the CWU, added: 'It does appear that Peter Mandelson is the minister without responsibility.

'He appears to want to wash his hands of this particular debate.

'It seems to be he is the minister without responsibility. He is responsible for the Royal Mail and he needs to get involved.'

Mr Ward added: 'What we're saying is you can reach an agreement but you need the key players to be present.

'We want to be in position where we can resolve this before the Christmas period.'

Yesterday the business secretary said the national strike action would be 'totally self-defeating', driving away customers and could 'irrevocably damage' the Royal Mail's reputation. He added if the strikes did go ahead for a prolonged period, contingency plans for delivery of hospital appointments and medical test results were being drawn up.

The CWU hit back at Lord Mandelson's speech, saying it would damage the talks.

It is thought the strikes could seriously damage small businesses.

Royal Mail recruits 30,000 temps

Royal Mail has said it will recruit 30,000 temporary members of staff to deal with the upcoming strike action by postal workers.

Industrial action is set to begin on Thursday October 22nd with mail centre staff and network drivers walking out.

The following day delivery and collection workers will also take strike action.

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) claims the strikes are over working conditions and plans to modernise Royal Mail.

The firm declared during the weekend it would hire twice the usual number of extra pre-Christmas in response to the strike action.

Union leaders have reacted angrily to the news, accusing Royal Mail of being more interested in 'sidelining' the views of staff instead of resolving the ongoing dispute.

A CWU spokesman said: 'We're disappointed that Royal Mail appears to be more interested in sidelining the views and concerns of its staff than reaching an agreement to bring this dispute to an end.

'Instead of spending vast sums of money on untrained temporary workers we urge the Royal Mail to engage with talks to reach an agreement to get the permanent staff back to work.'

Royal Mail, however, claims it is simply trying to minimise the disruption for customers.

Chief executive Adam Crozier said: 'We are continuing to urge the union to halt its appalling and unjustified attack on customers.

'At the same time, we are absolutely determined to do everything we can to minimise delays to customers' mail, especially in the run-up to Christmas.'

Unemployment rises to 2.47 million

The number of unemployed people in Britain rose by 88,000 in the three months up to August to 2.47 million, figures have revealed.

The Office for National Statistics also confirmed there are now 1.63 million people claiming Job Seekers Allowance.

The jobless rate now stands at 7.9 per cent and unemployment is at its highest in 14 years.

Employment minister Jim Knight told the BBC there are 946,000 people aged between 16 and 24 currently out of work - a rise of 19,000 during the three months.

He said the government expected unemployment to rise over the coming months.

Mr Knight refused to be drawn on how high the figure would rise before it levelled out though, with some financial analysts predicting it may pass three million.

Commenting on the figures, Alan Tomlinson, from the insolvency practitioners, Tomlinsons, said: 'Unemployment will continue to rise as long as businesses continue to struggle, and a significant number of businesses, SMEs in particular, are still fighting to survive.

'Turnover is depressed, cash flow is uncertain and margins are squeezed and so in order to stay afloat companies are having to make economies, the first of which, unfortunately, is to reduce headcount. And in many cases even that won't be enough to stop them going out of business.'

National postal strike 'from October 22nd'

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has said national postal strikes are likely to begin from October 22nd.

Union bosses wrote to the Royal Mail confirming the seven-day notice will be provided on Thursday outlining the exact dates of strike action.

The CWU will announce whether it will call out all 120,000 Royal Mail workers at once, or stage a series of strikes involving different groups of staff.

The letter released today from the union's deputy general secretary Dave Ward urged Royal Mail to potentially avoid any strike action by agreeing to a last-minute deal.

Last week union members voted by three-to-one to support strike action in a dispute over pay, working conditions and the overall modernisation of the postal service.

Mr Ward said on Tuesday: 'We have today written to Royal Mail making it clear that the CWU is ready to issue notice for a national strike as voted for by three quarters of postal workers.

'More importantly, we have offered what we believe is a genuine alternative to reach a lasting agreement. This is an opportunity to avoid a national strike, restore customer confidence and resolve the concerns of staff.'

Autism sufferers 'written off' by govt

People with autism are being condemned to a life or financial hardship or even poverty by the government, a charity claimed today.

The National Autistic Society (NAS) said one third of autism sufferers are without a job or without benefits.

New research by the charity shows the extent to which those affected are forced to rely on family and friends for the basic means to live.

For some, these conditions can last for decades, NAS said.

Mark Lever, the group's chief executive, said people with autism had explained how their experiences of the employment and benefits system had been marred by 'anxiety, confusion, delays and discrimination'.

'It is absolutely vital they are able to access the right help and services if seeking employment and are supported financially when they cannot work,' he continued.

'It is scandalous, therefore, that thousands of people with this serious, lifelong and disabling condition are being consigned to poverty by a complex and counter-productive benefits system. We will keep campaigning until the government's 'no-one written off' pledge is a reality for people with autism.'

The vast majority of the 300,000 working-age adults with autism want to work Mr Level explained, but they are held back by a 'woeful' lack of understanding about the condition at Jobcentre Plus.

At the start of the Conservative party conference last week David Cameron unveiled plans to shift 50,000 incapacity benefit claimants on to jobseeker's allowance.

One in three youngsters long-term unemployed

One in three unemployed people between the ages of 16 and 24 have now been out of work for more than six months, new figures show.

The current employment climate for young people is now at a 15-year low, the TUC said after analysing government statistics.

There are now 366,000 young people who have been unemployed for more than six months. With official jobless figures out on Wednesday, the TUC warns there could be yet another sharp increase in youth unemployment.

Those in the West Midlands appear to have been hardest hit by the current recession, with youth unemployment increasing more than twice as fast as the UK average.

The region has the highest youth unemployment rate at 26.7 per cent, followed by the North East (22.2 per cent) and Yorkshire and the Humber (21.2 per cent).

The TUC has backed the government's Future Jobs Fund scheme for any young person who has been out of work for at least ten months, but warns there are only 100,000 places and therefore will be oversubscribed meaning not all long-term unemployed youngsters will be able to take up a place

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Youth unemployment was a concern for the TUC before the recession started, but over the last year the numbers unable to find work have rocketed.

'It's clear that young people are among those bearing the brunt of the recession and rising unemployment. One in five of the UK's young population is currently out of work, and more than 360,000 young people have already spent more than six months on the dole.

'This is a crisis for our young people. Prolonged periods of joblessness permanently damage careers and without continued government investment we risk losing this generation, who are vital to our future labour market performance.'

He also warned cutting the Future Jobs Fund would be a 'disaster'.

Royal Mail: 76% vote for strike action

Postal workers have voted in favour of a national strike, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced.

Of the Royal Mail staff who balloted, 76 per cent of staff said yes to strike action.

The news follows a series of regional strikes which have caused a backlog of millions of letters.

Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with more than 60,000 out of 80,000 workers voting to strike.

Commenting on the vote, CWU deputy general secretary, said: 'If we don't take a stand now then you will see postal services in the UK destroyed forever.

'We are calling on the government to take decisive action. What we want to see is that this company moves forward.

'We will be working hard to resolve this before a national strike takes place.

'There is a window of opportunity for the employer. We are urging for them to meet with us before a national strike takes place.'

Exit polls earlier showed as many as 70 per cent of postal workers have backed the union's call for a strike in their dispute over pay and work practices. The strike could start as early as next week and last for several days.

Royal Mail's operations director, Paul Tolhurst, told the BBC that the Royal Mail wanted to keep talking to the CWU: 'The union is constantly demanding that we halt the changes we are making. But we have completed our changes for this year, so there is a clear opportunity for the union to stop striking.'

But the CWU general secretary Billy Hayes has said change is necessary.

'It has come to this because of the management of Royal Mail's and the government's refusal to engage the workforce on modernising the company,' he said.

Recent strikes has meant thousands could face penalty charges for late bill payments, and the backlog is so bad the Christmas post could be effected.

The union has to give Royal Mail seven days' notice of any strike, meaning industrial action could start next Thursday.