The latest round of postal strikes in Britain has been called off while Royal Mail and the CWUunion hold detailed talks to end the damaging conflict over pay and future working conditions.
Postal workers had been scheduled to embark on a week of rolling stoppages from August 9 –17. This would have been the third week of industrial action following two rounds of stoppagesduring July which gained strong support from postal workers and created a heavy backlog in theBritish postal system.
At a meeting yesterday, however, Royal Mail and the CWU agreed to hold detailed discussionson “all the relevant issues”. As a result, the union agreed to suspend the next wave of strikes dueto start yesterday evening.
In a joint statement from Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton, CEO Adam Crozier and CWUofficials Billy Hayes and Dave Ward, the two sides said they would hold confidential talks at theBritish trade union organisation TUC.
“Both sides commit to reach an agreement by 4 September,” they said. Until then, the unionwould suspend industrial action, while Royal Mail would not introduce any changes.
