Royal Mail shares slump to two-year low as union accuses it of ‘all out attack’

Royal Mail shares hit a two-year low this morning after the company confirmed that it still hadn’t reached an agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and would be terminating its agreement to protect jobs.

The company told the union that it would also be scrapping a nine-year deal to protect jobs and conditions, pushing the CWU to back down on strike action.

“After five months of talks and three days of damaging strike action, CWU continues to delay and block the changes we need to compete and protect jobs long-term. Royal Mail is losing £1million a day, and we need to break the impasse and move ahead with our transformation,” the firm said in a statement.

As a result of these losses, Royal Mail said it had informed the union that it wants “to modernise our ways of working, including serving notice and reviewing a number agreements that have been used to resist change, frustrate the adoption of technology, and effectively veto our transformation.”

The private firm said it has proposed further talks be taken via ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service).

Shares plunged as much three per cent this morning following the company’s statement, with the stock hitting its lowest point since late 2020 at 207p.

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said in a statement this afternoon that the delivery giant had tried to “blindside” the CWU to directly inform employees that their job security, working standards and union representation is under threat.

“It couldn’t be more obvious to thousands of workers that this represents a new step in a plan to turn Royal Mail into something more like Uber. But this country’s postal workers are made of stronger stuff than the people currently running Royal Mail.”

Deeming it an “all out attack,” CWU has called on members to take part in upcoming strike action – scheduled for 30 September and 1 October.