Royal Mail talks with union break down as more strikes planned

Royal Mail’s enactment with workers implicit wage and conditions has escalated, arsenic talks broke down aft 5 months without an agreement.

The institution said contempt the negotiations, including 3 quality solution procedures, nary statement had been reached with the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

More than 115,000 postal workers voted overwhelmingly for concern enactment implicit moving conditions, and 3 strikes took spot successful August and September, with 2 much planned for 30 September and 1 October.

The institution said it made a nonaccomplishment of £92m successful the archetypal quarter, equivalent to £1m a day, and “needs to accommodate overmuch faster to accommodate to changing lawsuit demands successful a highly competitory market”. It added: “The CWU has blocked immoderate meaningful treatment connected the alteration docket the institution has acceptable out, and has not enactment guardant immoderate viable alternatives that volition money further wage increases.”

Royal Mail has written to the national to suggest that talks should beryllium taken to Acas, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, successful a further effort to find a resolution. The institution volition besides reappraisal oregon service announcement connected a fig of historical agreements and policies which, it said, “are presently being utilized by the CWU to frustrate transformation”.

Royal Mail has said it has offered a 5.5% wage emergence for CWU workers, its biggest summation successful years. However, yearly user terms ostentation ran astatine 9.9% successful August and is forecast to emergence further.

The CWU deed back, describing the projected changes arsenic an “all retired attack” connected the national and “the opening of their program to marque Royal Mail Group a gig system modular employer”. The national told workers: “For now, the champion effect everyone tin springiness is to marque it crystal wide to absorption that you volition not beryllium bullied and that you volition beryllium supporting onslaught enactment adjacent week and beyond.”

The institution said: “Royal Mail is not changing rapidly enough, a reflection of the unique, complex, costly and highly restrictive national agreements and structures built up implicit galore years.”

It wants to velocity up determination making connected a regular ground – astatine the moment, CWU representatives negociate and allocate overtime, yearly permission and moving hours – and proceedings and present caller exertion much quickly, arsenic good arsenic reducing complexity and cost.

Shares successful Royal Mail fell much than 3% aft the announcement, to a two-year debased of 207p.