100,000 rush for post strike jobs

At least 100,000 people are expected to apply to become temporary postal workers in a jobs rush sparked by the planned mail strike.

Royal Mail has been flooded with applications after trying to recruit 30,000 workers to deal with the backlog caused by stoppages on Thursday and Friday.

The positions, paying around £5.95 an hour for a 40-hour week, are usually snapped up by students in the run-up to Christmas. Royal Mail said the huge number of people who had applied had been fuelled by the recession.

More than 85,000 people have already come forward, with the total expected to hit six figures in days.

Talks between the two sides continued today, with Royal Mail confident that the industrial action planned for this week could be averted.

But the Communication Workers Union threatened legal action over the "inflammatory" bid to recruit the 30,000 temporary staff, and warned that the stoppages could be the first of many before Christmas.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail insisted the temporary staff would not be used to deliver mail or carry out work in place of those on strike. The jobs, mostly in sorting offices, are on offer in an online advert which reads: "Christmas jobs at Royal Mail; Santa isn't the only one who needs help this Christmas.

Royal Mail delivers to very address in the UK and we're going to be busy over the festive period. We'll be sorting more than 130 million items each day, nearly double the usual amount, and we need help from extra people."

Normally between 15,000 and 17,500 temporary workers are hired at this time of the year.

Union members voted last week to take action in a dispute over modernisation and changes to pay and conditions. Up to 120,000 staff could take part. According to union sources, up to 15 million items are already stuck in the post as a result of local disputes.

Gordon Brown was said be "very concerned" about the impact of a strike and was monitoring the situation "very closely".

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: "The union remains available for talks."