Royal Mail proposes three-year pay deal to union

(Adds Royal Mail’s comment)
Feb 7 (Reuters) – Britain’s Royal Mail has proposed
a three-year pay deal to the Communication Workers Union (CWU)
and wants to have detailed talks with its largest union, the
company said on Twitter on Friday.
The company, which was dogged by the threat of strike action
over the Christmas period, had said on Thursday that the CWU was
preparing another strike ballot.
“We have today put forward a proposal to CWU, including a
three-year pay deal,” Royal Mail said in Friday’s tweet.
“We want to get into detailed talks about our proposal and
what we want from the union for our business,” said https://twitter.com/royalmailnews/status/1225826593798606848?s=20
the company, which employs about 143,000 people in Britain.
Royal Mail warned on Thursday that it faced a challenging
year ahead and could face a loss in its British business because
of labour tensions and shrinking letter volumes. [nL8N2A62CD] [nL8N2884R4] [nL3N27O25E] The company’s German chief executive, Rico Back, has said it
was vital that he proceeds with a plan to transform the British
business into a sustainably profitable operation by 2024.
Royal Mail’s tweet included a video with more details about
its proposal to the CWU, including modern tools and better
equipment, as well as fairer and more manageable routes.
The company said it would not be able to reduce the working
week by an hour, saying every hour reduced would cost the former
postal monopoly 100 million pounds ($129 million).
“We want to enter talks with CWU and reach an agreement”,
Shane O’Riordain, managing director of regulation and public
affairs at Royal Mail, said in an email statement.
The CWU rebuffed Royal Mail’s proposal on Twitter.
“Rather than try and negotiate with our members via actors
and actresses it would be great if you stopped moving ahead with
unagreed changes and sat down seriously with the union,” it
tweeted https://twitter.com/CWUnews/status/1225835552114647040?s=20.
Last May, the chief executive pledged to invest 1.8 billion
pounds in a five-year turnaround plan to refashion Royal Mail
into an international parcel-led business that can profit from a
future dominated by e-commerce.
The CWU did not immediately respond to a request for
additional comments.

($1 = 0.7757 pounds)

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by
Edmund Blair and Susan Fenton)
((noor.hussain@thomsonreuters.com; Within UK +44 20 7542 1810;
Outside UK +91 80 6182 2663 or +91 80 3796 2663 ;))

Keywords: ROYAL MAIL UNIONS/ (UPDATE 1, PIX)

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