Both sides in post office pay row want talks to deliver
Only in the strange world of Consignia, where the state-controlled postal company is preparing to axe an estimated 30,000 jobs, could the workforce be considering a strike for higher pay.
The company formerly known as the Post Office is losing Pounds 1.5m a day and is facing unprecedented competition. Its managers talk of a "meltdown". A national strike would not exactly help matters.
Now, there are signs that the two sides could be edging towards a deal that could resolve the pay dispute and remove the threat of nationwide industrial action.
The Communication Workers Union may settle for an agreement that gives its members less than the 5 per cent annual pay increase they had originally demanded. It could, at the same time, push for a deal over a longer period.
However, talks were continuing late into last night and, without a deal, the union could announce details of planned strike action today.
Consignia, which has already raised its offer to a basic rise of 2.1 per cent – plus another 0.7 per cent with conditions attached – was considering whether to revise its offer again in order to avert a damaging strike.
While postal workers face the prospect of 30,000 job losses – and have threatened mass stoppages if the cuts are compulsory – it is the annual pay round that has dominated talks between the employer and union.
The union, apparently reassured by behind-the-scenes hints that Consignia will seek to make future job losses voluntary, believes the issue of pay should have been settled months ago. John Keggie, the union's deputy general secretary, has been locked in negotiations with the management at the London headquarters of conciliation service Acas for nearly four weeks.
The union argues that, unless the company goes some way towards meeting its original demand for a 5 per cent annual rise backdated to October last year, there is little likelihood of achieving its "holy grail" of a rise in postal workers' salaries from Pounds 253 a week to Pounds 300 by October 2003 – at an estimated cost of Pounds 470m.
Consignia has been adamant it cannot meet this demand. Losing Pounds 1.5m a day and facing the introduction of wholesale competition, it is under pressure to cut costs dramatically.
Industrial relations at the Royal Mail have never been good. Unofficial walkouts at sorting offices accounted for the bulk of days lost to industrial action across the UK last year. An authoritarian management style and intimidating unions have long been behind the disastrous relations. Some local CWU branches are among the last outposts of old-style trade unionism, operating independently of the union's executive.
Both sides, though, have been anxious to keep the latest pay talks amicable. Until last month's ballot, a no-strike agreement had kept industrial action at bay. Even then, the threat of walkouts was seen as a bargaining tool and the union used changes to the law to extend the time for talks.
Yesterday's revelation that two Consignia directors were in line for 10 per cent pay rises threatened to undo this fragile peace. Surprisingly, the fall-out was limited. Billy Hayes, the leftwinger in charge of the union, spurned the opportunity for a "fat cat" row and kept a low profile.
Leaked documents show that negotiations between the union and management sides are advanced and detailed, covering everything from bank holiday overtime rates to childcare vouchers, London weighting, recruitment, shift cover and vehicle allowances. www.ft.com/consignia
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