Milkmen to deliver Royal Mail post backlog

Milkmen were preparing to deliver thousands of letters as Royal Mail chiefs warned that wildcat post strikes could “destroy” the loss-making company.

An enormous backlog of undelivered mail continue to mount as around 20,000 postmen and women remain on strike throughout the country.

Executives at Express Dairies have confirmed they are preparing to deliver mail on 3,500 milk rounds to help businesses desperate to get letters and bills out to customers.

However, the milkmen are not able to collect or sort mail posted in letter boxes – and will not be used to clear the backlog in Royal Mail depots.

Talks between the Communication Workers Union and mail bosses continued throughout yesterday, but there were no signs of an immediate breakthrough last night.

Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier, who surprisingly joined the negotiations, said a failure to modernise could ruin the company.

He pointed out that Royal Mail has lost £1.8billion over the last two years and is facing increased competition.

Mr Crozier added that unofficial strike action had cost the company 66,000 working days in 2001, and warned that he is considering legal action over the current walkouts.

He said: “We have to make provisions today that will allow us to be fit to compete for the next 10 or 20 years. If we don’t sort this out, if we don’t modernise now, we won’t have a future to think about.”

Mr Crozier said that some progress had been made in the negotiations, but he warned: “There is still some way to go.”

During talks, both sides are understood to have agreed strikers would not face disciplinary action – unless it has been proved they had been involved in bullying and intimidation.

CWU Union general secretary Billy Hayes has attacked the Royal Mail for putting a “very low-level manager” into the talks.

He said: “It can be resolved if Royal Mail put their senior managers in.”

Now Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton has met with Mr Hayes in an attempt to solve the dispute.