Union presses for more upfront pay from UK Royal Mail to avert post strike
Britain’s main postal workers’ union, the CWU, pressed Royal Mail to pay more of its 14.5% pay and productivity offer upfront in order to avert the first national strike for seven years.
Talks at the conciliation service Acas, adjourned last night and are to resume tomorrow, with the CWU hoping that Royal Mail will agree to reduce the 10% of its pay offer linked to productivity changes such as ending the daily second delivery.
“They have linked £20 a week to local agreements on productivity and £6.28 to a national agreement. We need to see more of that £20 upfront in the pay award – either in October or April next year,” CWU sources said.
They added: “Allan Leighton [Royal Mail chairman] has given generous golden hellos to his executives so perhaps he should do the same for our people.”
Some reports have linked the CWU to an 8% pay claim but the union denied this.
Royal Mail, which says its offer is generous given its £611m losses last year, refused to improve it ahead of yesterday’s talks but says a deal to prevent a national strike by 160,000 postal staff is critical to its three-year renewal plan.
It did, however, agree last month to uncouple a £300 increase in London weighting from productivity changes and pay more for local agreements to change rather than wait for national implemen tation. The peace talks, led by Dave Ward, CWU deputy leader, and Tony McCarthy, Royal Mail’s human resources director, could last until Thursday – the deadline set by the union for formally notifying Royal Mail it is going ahead with a strike ballot from August 21.
