Year: 2003

Militant London members of the postal union have been reined in after leaders rejected their calls for strike action over pay. Leaders at the Communication Workers Union said last night there were no plans for a strike and that negotiations with Royal Mail were “only beginning” after certain London members threatened to call for industrial action. The CWU is hoping to reach a compromise on a pay increase proposed by Royal Mail, tied to controversial productivity demands.

Royal Mail is on a collision course with unions over a 14.5 per cent pay offer that could lead to widespread walkouts. Allan Leighton, chairman of the loss-making organisation, has infuriated union officials by going over their heads and appealing directly to workers in a letter offering the pay rise over 18 months. Leaders of the Communication Workers Union are poised to reject the offer, which would give the lowest paid up to Pounds 38 a week more. The package had “more strings than the philharmonic orchestra”, a union spokesman said. The clash could mark the first serious showdown between the union and Royal Mail for several years, harking back to the time when the organisation was involved in half the strikes in Britain.

Royal Mail’s 160,000 delivery staff have been offered a record 14.5 per cent pay deal in an attempt to push through controversial productivity improvements.
Allan Leighton, chairman of the state-owned postal operator, wrote to staff at the weekend – appealing to them over union negotiators’ heads with a promise to raise all salaries to at least GBP300 a week. He said the deal would add between GBP33 and GBP38 a week to the pay packets of most staff, equivalent to 14.5 per cent over the next 18 months. Yesterday Royal Mail insisted the offer was only the same as had already been put on the table during negotiations with union representatives.