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Royal Mail said today it will prioritise general election-related mail in the event of a threatened strike.
Communications Workers Union (CWU) members have voted for a pre-Christmas strike, accusing bosses of failing to live up to an agreement reached last year over issues including pay and conditions.
Royal Mail wrote to the CWU last Tuesday saying that if the union offers a commitment to remove the threat of strike action for the rest of 2019 it will enter into talks without any other preconditions.
Read more: Royal Mail urges union to rule out Christmas strike
It also said it would extend the life of the ballot result by the same amount of time as the pause of industrial action.
CWU rejected this offer.
Shane O’Riordain, Royal Mail managing director of regulation and corporate affairs, said: “In the event of industrial action in the run up to a general election, election mail will be our number one priority. We will invest significant resource to seek to ensure a seamless process for the handling of postal election material. Royal Mail volunteers will also work on the processing and delivery of election mail.
Read more: Royal Mail workers vote in favour of largest strike in a decade
“Royal Mail is also meeting the CWU as a matter of urgency to discuss the union’s request for an increase in the dedicated payments postmen receive for delivering each poll card and individual item of candidate mail.
“The recent ballot result for industrial action does not necessarily mean that industrial action will take place. In addition, Royal Mail continues to believe that a binding commitment from the CWU to remove the threat of strike action during the period of any general election is vital to ensuring a seamless electoral process in relation to postal votes.”
CWU was contacted for comment.
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