Royal Mail clashes with union over shares plan

The Royal Mail was on a collision course with the main postal workers’ union today when a fresh row blew up over the future of the industry.

The Communication Workers’ Union announced that a huge majority of its members were opposed to the idea of shares being given to workers.

The union said a consultative ballot showed that 90,103 of its members supported the CWU’s vision of a publicly owned Royal Mail – a majority of 98.5%.

A separate ballot run by an independent company showed that of 1,000 union members polled 949 backed the union.

Within minutes of the announcement, the Royal Mail revealed it had asked an independent auditor to examine the union’s ballot as well as one that the company has been holding in recent weeks.

Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton said that 80,000 workers supported his idea for issuing shares.

“Royal Mail has asked an independent auditor to examine the process of both consultations.

“We assume the union will be able to provide the auditor with the names and work numbers of all those who voted, as we will be doing.”

The union’s annual conference in Bournemouth is expected to warn later today that, unless progress is made on a number of issues, including pay, a ballot for national industrial action will start in four weeks’ time.

The union wants pay talks to be reopened after the Royal Mail imposed a 2.9% increase.

General secretary Billy Hayes said after announcing the ballot result: “The message that goes out from here today is that democracy has been restored to the Post Office.”