Workers at Chatham Royal Mail depot on strike this morning (Wednesday)

by Rob Daly

Hundreds of postal workers are staging a mass walkout over pay and job losses.

Thousands of homes are affected by the strike involving 700 delivery workers at major offices in Chatham, Sheerness, Maidstone and Faversham.

The 24-hour walkout started at around 4am.

The Communications Workers Union says Royal Mail is making too many cutbacks and it's affecting staff and the company's service.

Kent Invicta Branch Secretary David Banbury said: "We're trying to get Royal Mail to sit down and negotiate with the trade union."

"Hopefully the public will understand this isn't just about our jobs."

"Over the last few years (the public) have seen a downturn in service, earlier collections being made, later deliveries and to us that's unacceptable."

But Royal Mail said it "beggars belief" that the Communication Workers Union would call on members to vote for a strike which "would damage customer confidence and undermine the entire UK postal industry".

A statement said: "Having met the union more than 50 times in recent months, it is increasingly clear that the CWU refuses to believe that mail volumes are declining by around 10 per cent annually despite the clear evidence of this in the UK and in every other postal market around the world."