Postal workers confirmed today that they plan to strike in a dispute over three employees dismissed for failing to deliver mail.

The Communication Workers Union announced plans to take industrial action in Abingdon and east Oxford from 9pm on Friday until 4pm on Saturday.

The strike will hit deliveries in the OX4, OX13 and OX14 areas and contingency plans have been put into place by Royal Mail. Oxford area manager Kevin Oakley said: "Cases involving the wilful delay of mail are always taken extremely seriously. Each of these particular cases has been taken through our official disciplinary procedure using the conduct code which has been agreed with the CWU.

"We can't really understand why the union are choosing to take this out on our customers when it is an internal issue."

A CWU member, who asked not to be named, said: "The strike is definitely going ahead. We are doing this on behalf of Kevin Tunstall, who works in Abingdon and two lads from east Oxford, Gary Quick and David Chand."

A union spokesman said: "The union believes that there were serious flaws with each case, both in conduct code procedures, and the circumstances which led to the dismissals.

"There have been no talks between the employer and the union since notice was given of the ballots.

"The union feels that industrial action is the last resort in what we see as the employer's refusal to negotiate or seek a suitable solution without the need for customers to suffer."

The action is scheduled just days before the official hearing of an independent tribunal for the Abingdon case, which is due to be heard on Monday.

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