Royal Mail talks end without agreement

TALKS aimed at resolving a long-running dispute at Royal Mail ended without agreement today.

The company had been meeting Communication Workers Union (CWU) negotiators to try to reach a deal on pay, jobs and conditions.

A CWU statement said: “There has been progress in several areas and the union made it clear last night [Tuesday] that we are willing to continue negotiations today and tomorrow to finalise an agreement.  

“This offer has been reiterated to the company this morning.

“The company have published selected aspects of their latest offer directly to employees, claiming that the main sticking point is new entrants’ terms and conditions.  This is not true.  
 
“Our members have seen these actions throughout this dispute from the employer and they will not be fazed. 

“We will engage with all union members on the status of the whole talks, explaining exactly where the differences are, including the unacceptable pressures being deliberately placed on postal workers through imposed revisions that are failing the quality of the postal service and of USO [universal service obligation] compliance.”

A Royal Mail statement said: “After 11 months of talks, including mediation by [former TUC general secretary] Sir Brendan Barber and [conciliation service] Acas, we are deeply concerned that our talks with CWU have concluded without an agreement.

“We made substantial efforts to reach an agreement, including making a number of further improvements to our offer.

“These improvements were all based on feedback from the CWU and we were hopeful that the CWU would put a deal to its members.

“We have been clear throughout the dispute that not transforming our network and working practices is not an option in a business losing more than £1 million a day.”

Royal Mail said it had increased its pay offer and extended it to run until April 2025.