A FRESH wave of strikes threatens Oxfordshire’s postal service next week if negotiations fail to produce an agreement.

The announcement came from the Communication Workers' Union just hours after more than 1,000 union members walked out in Swindon, where Oxfordshire’s post is now sorted.

The Swindon employees were among 120,000 postal workers staging 48 hours of industrial action across the country.

The strike started at midnight on Wednesday.

Further strikes are likely to cause disruption to mail deliveries – already facing big delays because of this week's stoppages – in the run-up to Christmas.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged Royal Mail management and postal workers to get round the table to solve the dispute, saying the strike was self-defeating.

Mr Brown’s comments came as it was revealed that almost one million working days have been lost due to industrial action at the Royal Mail since 2000.

  • How are you being affected by the post strike? Call our newsdesk on 01865 425500 or email news@oxfordmail.co.uk