A wildcat strike by 42 Royal Mail workers heavily disrupted postal deliveries.

The employees, based at Bicester's Murdock Road depot, went on unofficial strike shortly after 5am yesterday and demonstrated outside the building.

They were protesting against the sacking without notice of a postman who had taken two days' sick leave. The workers claim Royal Mail did not believe he was sick.

Deliveries to the OX6 postcode area in Bicester were affected, with many deliveries delayed by several hours. Another 40 employees at the Oxford sorting centre walked out in support, but returned within an hour without causing any disruption to deliveries.

The Bicester strikers returned to work today after an early morning meeting and will now await the result of an appeal by the sacked worker, who has not been named, to be held on Tuesday. Pete Boswell, Oxfordshire secretary of the Communication Workers' Union, said: "This lad was summarily dismissed without any notice. The workers were not happy, so they walked out.

"Oxford walked out in solidarity with their Bicester colleagues, but the union negotiated an agreement for them to return to work."

Royal Mail spokesman Paula Elwood said: "We have been working with the union to urge strikers at Bicester to return to work and bring this unnecessary and unlawful action to an end so we can begin to address their concerns."

Story date: Thursday 04 November

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