Royal Mail to tear up trade union deal in bid to end wave of strikes

The spokesman added that the company is also seeking talks with the CWU at dispute resolution service Acas. 

It is possible that the decision to terminate agreements with the CWU could be open to challenge in the courts, one insider acknowledged.

But they added: “You couldn’t paint a clearer picture of industrial instability. The case is pretty clear.”

Dave Ward, the CWU’s general secretary, has previously dismissed the threat of abandoning the deal.

The union is demanding a pay rise for staff to at least match inflation and has pushed back against changes to rotas that would see postal workers deliver packages later in the day. 

Mr Ward has said the union is “up for this fight and we are confident the public will support us”.

“Royal Mail wants to change the whole basis of what the company is about,” he previously told The Telegraph.

“The board’s proposals will turn it into just another parcel courier – they are about abandoning the universal service obligation and making as much profit as possible.

“We think they are taking liberties, not just with our members but also the public, and that is why we are taking strike action.”

Royal Mail’s deal with the CWU was signed under the previous chief executive Moya Greene in December 2013, as the company sought stability following a bumpy stock market debut that October. It was announced as “groundbreaking… the first of its kind in the UK”, with the company saying it would “create a can-do culture”.

But current management, led by chairman Keith Williams, views the contract as an impediment to changes that are essential if the company is to survive in the modern era.

Royal Mail is grappling with a steeply declining letter market but demand for parcels is rocketing, propelling the growth of rivals such as Evri, DPD and Amazon. Bosses say the company’s network of local sorting offices and unreformed working practices are holding it back from competing on an equal footing.

They have tried to set up new parcel delivery hubs and want postal workers to deliver later into the evening and on Sundays, but have met strong resistance from the CWU, which believes the changes undermine the role of its members.