British business and consumers were today hit by the start of three more days of “mad” postalstrikes after intensive talks between Royal Mail and the CWU postal union failed to achieve a
breakthrough in the bitter modernisation dispute.Nearly 44,000 staff in mail centres and network drivers have been called out on one-daystrike action today (Thursday). A further 400 address monitoring staff at three centres will takeaction tomorrow, while 77,000 delivery and collection staff are due to take strike action onSaturday, according to the CWU. This follows last week’s two days of nationwide strikes.
The strikes are going ahead after Royal Mail and the CWU failed to reach any agreement inthree days of confidential talks from Monday to Wednesday under the mediation of the TUC unionumbrella organisation.
The British Chambers of Commerce director general David Frost condemned the latest postalstrikes as “madness”. He declared: “No one is benefiting from ongoing industrial action andhard-pressed businesses are the innocent victims. With the country still in recession, this reallyis a poorly timed strike. Companies simply cannot rely on the postal service, and Royal Mail ispaying for it in lost contracts and revenue.”
The CWU said its proposal to enable a period of calm and further talks had not been accepted,and it therefore would go ahead with the previously announced strikes. Dave Ward, CWU deputygeneral secretary, said in a statement last night: “This series of strikes and future strikes canstill be avoided and we remain available for discussions at any time, including tonight. We remaincommitted to reaching an agreed resolution.”
Royal Mail condemned the CWU’s decision to “walk away” as peace talks were making significantprogress and the union’s failure to call off this week’s industrial action. Claiming that the unionleadership is divided over how to proceed, the company said it was willing to talk for as long asnecessary to resolve the dispute.
Mark Higson, Managing Director of Royal Mail Letters, said: “We have repeatedly asked for acommon sense approach that allows a strike-free Christmas while we talk about the future yet eventhat seems too much for the CWU to accept. The central issue remains the CWU’s opposition to RoyalMail’s essential modernisation plans, without which the company simply does not have a future.”
Royal Mail said that after three days of intensive talks and mediation at the TUC it isincreasingly evident that the CWU leadership, the national officers and the Postal ExecutiveCommittee all have very different views on the reason for these strikes and how this dispute can beresolved. Royal Mail urged the union to get independent help to resolve its own internal positionso that the company and the union can then get on with constructive and meaningful talks.
“Yesterday we were once again on the verge of a sensible agreement that would have allowed usto enter into in-depth discussions with the union over the future of Royal Mail in an atmosphere ofcalm – but just like last week the CWU leadership has failed to carry its own Postal ExecutiveCommittee, which appears to be split with London members at odds with the rest of the country andunable to reach any decision,” Higson commented.
Royal Mail also said it expected the total volume of mail delayed by last week’s strikes tohave fallen to around two million items by the end of yesterday, almost all of which are itemsawaiting delivery in London. It would continue to do all it could reasonably and legally to clearthe mail backlog caused by strike action. Measures include using 900 managers and contract driversto transport mail across the country, using 5,000 other managers and support staff to providepremium delivery services and collect mail from post offices and mailboxes, and setting up fiveadditional parcel sorting centres.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, who oversaw the three days of talks, said: “I am verydisappointed that despite the very intensive talks of the last three days we have not yet been ableto finalise an agreement. A great deal of positive work has been done in the negotiations, whichhave been conducted in a positive spirit on all sides throughout.” The TUC remained available tohost further talks, he stressed.
