Post offices to be closed as staff strike over Crown branch closures Post Offices across Scotland will be closed on Monday as staff strike over proposed cuts. Branches in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dunfermline and several other towns will be affected as members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) stage a walkout. It follows a UK-wide stoppage on Saturday and comes ahead of a strike by workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on Tuesday. The dispute involving 4000 staff is over plans to franchise or close more than 70 Crown post offices - the larger high street branches owned by Post Office Ltd. Monday's strike action is the eleventh round since March and the CWU says there are no signs of it stopping unless an agreement can be reached. Deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: "The message can't be much stronger to Post Office management. Crown post office workers do not agree with management's slash-and-burn approach and are prepared to take prolonged industrial action to defend jobs and services and win a fair pay rise. This is a company which made £94m profit last year and paid out £15.4m in bonuses to senior managers. It's a clear case of double standards and trampling those at the bottom for the benefit of those at the top. Kevin Gilliland, network and sales director at the Post Office, said: "We are extremely disappointed at the CWU's decision to call further strike action. This action can only cause disruption to customers, cost our people money and place further pressure on the Crown network which is currently losing £37m a year. Mr Gilliland said the post office remained committed to the plans "to ensure we keep these branches on high streets and in city centres across the UK." He added: "We remain open to discussions with the CWU on pay options which do not add to the current loss of public money."