Royal Mail wins worst April Fools’ joke 2023

Amid rampant inflation, spiraling prices and stagnant wages, there was little bandwidth for April Fools’ this 12 months when on daily basis can really feel like a nasty joke.

Nevertheless, the prevailing ambiance was misplaced on a Royal Mail supply workplace in Gloucestershire the place a poster appeared on Saturday promising employees an 11 % pay rise backdated to April 2022 following an settlement with the Communication Staff Union (CWU).

Stranger issues have occurred, we suppose, however the sting felt by postal employees as they learn on will need to have been rage-inducing.

The missive additionally spoke of using 10,000 telegram boys, a career eradicated in 1977, and introducing a “model new fleet of diesel vans and bicycles to interchange electrical vans,” which the group has solely not too long ago began to roll out.

The context to this extraordinarily poor style prank is that the Royal Mail has been locked in a dispute with the CWU for nearly a 12 months, with 18 days of strikes between August and the top of 2022.

In response to the CWU, Royal Mail employees are demanding a “dignified correct pay rise.” Workers have been provided a 5.5 % increase, however this was blasted as a 2 % enhance in actual phrases.

Union basic secretary Dave Ward stated in September: “No one takes the choice to strike frivolously, however postal employees are being pushed to the brink.

“There may be little doubt that postal employees are utterly united of their willpower to safe the dignified, correct pay rise they deserve.

“We won’t maintain residing in a rustic the place bosses rake in billions in revenue whereas their staff are pressured to make use of meals banks.

“When Royal Mail bosses are raking in £758m in revenue and shareholders pocketing £400m, our members will not settle for pleads of poverty from the corporate.”

With negotiations collapsing once more yesterday, the CWU seems to be set to announce extra strike dates.

Royal Mail stated in an announcement: “The poster was eliminated and the native supervisor has apologised.

“We apologise for any upset brought on by this misjudged April Fools’ joke at one in all our supply workplaces.”

However the CWU was lower than impressed. “A whole bunch of CWU members have been sacked and dismissed for a lot lower than this ‘joke’,” a spokesperson stated.

“It appears to be the case in the intervening time that Royal Mail managers can do something they like so long as what they’re doing hurts staff.

“It’s destroying morale and is taking part in its position in working the corporate into the bottom.” ®