Tag: UK

Royal Mail is pleased to announce that the Communications Workers Union has accepted the company’s offer on pay along with plans to modernise the company and reform the pension scheme.

Royal Mail has made a two year proposal which provides a stable base from which the company, its customers and our people can move forward. The CWU’s acceptance of the proposal means that Royal Mail can now go ahead with essential plans to modernise the business and make it more flexible, efficient and able to compete properly in the marketplace. It also secures support for the pension reform that is a major element in safeguarding the future of the business and our people’s jobs.

Royal Mail Chief Executive Adam Crozier said: “All along we have been clear that to become competitive we needed flexibility to modernise and we needed to reform our pension scheme because the costs were crippling the company. This deal, which is within the parameters we clearly set for pay this year, gives Royal Mail a fighting chance of success in the future.

The key points agreed today are:

• An increase of 5.4 pct on basic pay and weekday overtime from 1 October (equivalent to a cost of 2.5 pct in the financial year from April 2007 to March 2008).
• A one-off lump sum of GBP 175, from an existing employee “share of savings” scheme and so at no extra cost to Royal Mail.
• The flexibility we need to modernise our operations so that we can compete effectively against rivals who have already modernised and so have lower costs and prices than Royal Mail.

Postal strikes across the country have hit rural businesses hard and look set to put a number of people out of business.

Two one-day strikes, as well as subsequent wildcat strikes saw postal services disrupted for over a week – causing rural communication networks to come to a standstill.

Charles Trotman, chief rural economist for the Country Land and Business Association, said the strikes had been devastating for rural business.

In the South West alone, the strikes are expected to cost the rural economy up to GBP 10 million, according to Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council.

Mr Jones said the strikes could not have come at a worse time after rural businesses had already been hit by foot-and-mouth restrictions, fuel charge increases and the recent Northern Rock credit crisis.

The problems faced during the strikes are just the latest in a long line of problems faced by rural communities.

Plans to close many rural post offices have been met by fierce opposition from those who rely on the service.

Mr Trotman admitted that a compromise had to be found so that the service could continue to run as well as offer value for money.

One idea he and others have suggested is opening one-stop-shops for all Government services in rural areas, offering a postal service as well as assistance with tax and other issues.