This industrial action has been called off

Transport union RMT announced today that hundreds of staff working for City Link will be taking seven days of strike action in a dispute over pay, working conditions and an attempt by the company management to bulldoze through changes to contracts.

The workforce will strike for seven days from 00.01 hours on Tuesday 24th September to 12.59 hours on Monday 30th September 2013.

In addition, RMT has called a labour-movement wide boycott of the company and will organise a programme of protests on 24th September across Britain at locations including Portsmouth, Milton Keynes, Coventry, Norwich, Chelmsford, Heathrow, Warrington, Basingstoke and Guildford.

City Link was flogged off earlier this year to private equity group Better Capital for a pound by Rentokil Initial and that sell off to Jon Moulton’s aggressive, anti-worker outfit has coincided with an all-out assault on terms and conditions.

Staff face pay cuts of up to £4000, enforced overtime, the axing of the bonus scheme and changes to travel arrangements that will leave them further out of pocket.

In separate ballots of both driver and non-driver staff majorities in favour of strike action of more than nine to one have been recorded. The results have now be considered by RMT’s executive who have decided to put on the industrial action and the public campaign to defend pay and working conditions.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“The assault on pay and conditions by the new, private equity owners of City Link has sparked a surge in recruitment and hundreds of workers are now actively engaged in the fight back at City Link depots across the country. The company should be under no illusions, their workforce are up for this fight.

“The massive majority in favour of strike action shows that RMT members at City Link will not stand by and take this bullying attempt to force new contracts down their throats by the asset-strippers from Better Capital . RMT is fighting back with a two-pronged strategy involving industrial action and public campaigning.

“The battle at City Link is a national fight against a high-profile company and represents an important campaign for the whole trade union movement against private equity companies who think they can treat their workers like dirt. As always RMT remains available for meaningful talks.”