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Royal Mail’s main trade union is consulting with industry and legal experts after the company threatened workers with administration and warned that further planned strikes will put their job security at risk and make a recent three-year pay offer “unaffordable”.
The postal group, which is part of International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS), has been in talks over pay and conditions for 11 months with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 115,000 of its workers.
Following up on Royal Mail’s threat to put the UK business into administration earlier this week, a company spokesperson said today: “If CWU persists with further strike action, this would only serve to threaten the job security of our postmen and women and make our pay offer unaffordable.”
Last month, workers who are members of the union voted overwhelmingly for a new strike mandate, threatening to add to 18 days of walkouts since last August, with an announcement confirming plans expected later this week.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said the union is consulting with experts on the legal situation of the company’s threat and that actions by the company suggested directors had essentially “given up” on complying with the legal requirements of the Universal Service Order (USO).
“I want to reassure our members we’re not reckless people,” he said in a video, adding that Royal Mail’s financial position, where the company is slated to lose between £350mln and £400mln this year, “is down to the company and the way that they’ve dealt with his dispute right from the start”.
“They need to start answering and front-up themselves, rather than trying to place that pressure on our members.
“The greatest risk of all is that we actually let them destroy this industry and destroy these jobs. We’ll look at that. We’re talking to experts about that. And we’ll make the right call on your part.”
A spokesman confirmed that industry and legal experts are being consulted.
General Secretary Dave Ward, responds to reports surfacing in the media that Royal Mail are going into administration. We stick together. pic.twitter.com/Pzyn4SbE7C
— The CWU (@CWUnews) March 29, 2023
In the background of the negotiations, Ward also noted that managers were making operational revisions and implementing new targets that are “simply not achievable in some places”.
He added: “What’s really worrying us is how demoralising that must be for our members who are on the end of those attacks from the company. And particularly that the company seem like they’ve completely given up on complying with the USO, which is one of the laws of this country. And it’s not their job to sort of stand in the way of that law.”
He said a new pay offer has been tabled by the company during the course of the latest talks, based on a three year deal.
“The union is keen to look at a three-year deal to see if it’s possible to reach an agreement, that gives some certainty for our members on pay. But we want to be absolutely clear at this point in time, that offer is not good enough for us to put to our members.”
Ward said the union “want to look at some other ways of improving that offer” as part of the negotiations.
General Secretary Dave Ward, with a message to Royal Mail Group. pic.twitter.com/qXS18l0JMV
— The CWU (@CWUnews) March 29, 2023
