Reporting the class action against the Post Office at the High Court

Amazing scenes in parliament yesterday where the slow decline of Crown post offices was debated by MPs. The debate was called by Wigan’s Lisa Nandy, who started with this extraordinary tale:”I was quite horrified at what happened last month when I went to my Crown post office to talk to the staff. I went with a representative of the Communication Workers Union, who had notified management in advance, but an area manager was then sent all the way to Wigan to block me at the door. We were chucked out of the building, but for some time I stood outside in the street in the freezing cold to talk to staff about their concerns and fears. A number of counter staff who had initially been keen to talk emailed me later to explain that they had been put under significant pressure not to come outside. “Why is a publicly owned business trying to intimidate and silence its own staff? It was particularly telling that the area manager said that she had been sent by the press office. This is an organisation apparently more concerned about appearances than about the rights of its own workforce.”

I’ve asked the Post Office press office for a comment. For the rest of the debate – have a read of Hansard. Thanks to Jo for the tip-off on the story.