The postal worker at the centre of an unofficial strike says he is sorry for the chaos but claims Royal Mail is to blame.

About 160 workers at the sorting depot in Cowley, Oxford, walked out on Monday after Steven Gill was summarily suspended on full pay, pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Mr Gill, who has worked at the depot for more than a decade, said he was called into a meeting with management and asked if he was in Watlington on July 7, but was not given a reason for his suspension. Royal Mail says he was given the reason.

Mr Gill, one of 150 workers involved in a wildcat strike at the Cowley depot in April 2004, said: "I have a sort of idea about what it is about, but I am not going to talk about it. I absolutely did not want a strike. I have been a negotiator for the union - that's my job, to fight for people's rights. I adhere to procedures as well as management do, but in this scenario they have not done that.

"I'm sorry it has come to this, but it is not an individual choice, it is a choice that the membership have taken."

Workers were invited to meet with management yesterday to "enable staff to hear first hand the facts of the current situation" but only eight strikers took them up on the offer and the dispute remains unresolved.

Yesterday Royal Mail spokesman Richard Hall said 20 per cent of staff were still working at the depot and the delivery side of the organisation was still operating normally.

The depot sorts about a million items of post each day and all mail posted in Oxfordshire goes through the depot.

Mr Hill said: "The suspended individuals are aware of the incident that is the subject of an internal conduct investigation.

"Everything is being done to resolve this dispute and Royal Mail continues calls for the union to encourage staff to end this unlawful dispute and return customer service to normal."

Contingency plans have been put in place to send out appointment letters to patients from county hospitals, with hospital staff personally taking sackloads of letters to the Cowley depot.

The wildcat strike looks likely to continue until the start of a third national strike by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) expected to start next Wednesday evening. Different groups of workers will be called out on different days to maximise disruption.

The union has rejected a 2.5 per cent pay offer and warned that Royal Mail's modernisation plans will lead to the loss of 40,000 jobs.