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Royal Mail deal brokered before weekend

13/10/2007

Union leaders and Royal Mail bosses have reached an agreement which could see the threat of further strike action abandoned.

A brief joint statement released last night by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail said that "all the issues in dispute" were covered by the terms which had been reached.

Only Adam Crozier, Royal Mail chief executive, Trades Union Congress general secretary Brendan Barber and CWU's general and deputy general secretaries, Billy Hayes and Dave Ward, were signatories to the statement.

As a result the deal is not yet binding and on Monday the CWU's executive will vote on whether to accept or reject the deal, no details of which have been released.

The development means that the high court injunction blocking next week's scheduled walkouts, organised in a longstanding row over pay levels and job security, may not have been necessary.

Workers had planned a series of staggered strikes across the whole of next week to maximise disruption, with Royal Mail focusing its efforts on averting walkouts pencilled in at mail centres and delivery offices on Monday and Tuesday.

At the heart of the dispute is the CWU's refusal to accept a pay offer put forward by Royal Mail on the grounds that it contains "unacceptable strings", including a reduction in pensions benefits.

It has also attacked Royal Mail's modernisation plan, which it fears will result in the loss of 40,000 jobs.

However the postal service provider insists the changes are necessary in order for the company to remain competitive following the liberalisation of the postal market.