A ballot of 140,000 postmen and women will go ahead on Wednesday after talks aimed at averting a national strike ended without agreement.
The Communication Workers Union said no progress was made at a meeting with managers from postal group Consignia, held under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas on Tuesday.
The UK’S postal regulator is set to throw open nearly a third of the Royal Mail’s market to competition in a move which will put £1.25bn of business at risk. PostComm is expected to unveil a radical shake-up of the postal system at the end of the month which will result in rival operators being granted long-term contracts to compete with Consignia for 30 per cent of its monopoly business.
Read MorePOST OFFICES are to be offered up to Pounds 70,000 to close in an effort to streamline the struggling network.
The Government is seeking European approval to offer sub-postmasters in towns and cities lucrative compensation packages in exchange for giving up their right to offer post office services.
Consignia is to reveal detailed plans within three weeks to shed up to 30,000 jobs. The redundancy programme will lead to one of the biggest culls of middle management in British corporate history. Up to 10,000 “suits” are expected to lose their jobs as part of the shake-up. The board believes that huge savings can be achieved by stripping away layers of “inefficient” middle management.
Read MorePostal services may be hit by a national strike. Almost 150,000 Royal Mail workers are to be balloted on industrial action over a pay dispute
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