Royal Mail tweets pay proposal to union as transformation plan lags

(Reuters) – Royal Mail (RMG.L) put forward a proposal with a three-year pay deal to Communication Workers Union (CWU) on Friday, saying in its message delivered on Twitter that it wanted to have detailed talks with its largest union.

The proposal comes after Royal Mail said it faced a challenging year and could face a loss in its British business because of labor tensions and shrinking letter volumes.

The warning followed a Christmas period dogged by the threat of strike action. Royal Mail said on Thursday that the CWU was also preparing another strike ballot.

Royal Mail’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.

“We have today put forward a proposal to CWU, including a three-year pay deal,” Royal Mail said on said on Twitter.

“We want to get into detailed talks about our proposal and what we want from the union for our business,” said here the company, which employs about 143,000 people in Britain.

The tweet included a video with more details about Royal Mail’s proposal 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).

The CWU rebuffed Royal Mail’s proposal on Twitter.

“Rather than try and negotiate with our members via actors and actresses it would great if you stopped moving ahead with unagreed changes and sat down seriously with the union,” it tweeted here

In 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 and Royal Mail did not immediately respond to a request for additional comments.