Royal Mail Strike Talks Underway

The Royal Mail and the postal workers' union are taking part in fresh talks this morning aimed at averting further strikes.

However, Royal Mail Chief Executive Adam Crozier is already warning there can be "no new concessions".

But, with millions of letters and parcels delayed - and more walkouts planned for later this week - the government is urging both sides to reach an agreement.

This week, as many as 120,000 workers are set to strike for three days from Thursday in the latest move in a long-running row over jobs, pay and modernisation.

Two 24-hour strikes last week have already led to a backlog of around 30 million items of mail.

This weekend, Mr Crozier said he hoped "common sense" would prevail when leaders of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) resumed talks with bosses at today's meeting, which has been organised by the TUC.

He admitted there was a lot of "confusion" about the dispute, but stressed the importance of pressing ahead with the modernisation of the postal service.

The trouble is in part because some 63,000 posts have been axed in recent years, which Mr Crozier said the union accepted.

However, the fear is that "improved efficiency" would lead to more job cuts as a second phase of modernisation is being planned.

Speaking on Sunday, he said that postal operators around the world expect to handle up to 40% less mail in the next few years.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme: "We need to get through a lot more change to deal with what is happening in the marketplace," he said.

"There will be fewer jobs as we become more efficient and because of fewer volumes of mail."

Commenting, CWU General Secretary Billy Hayes said the new talks were a "good start" and that his union wanted to solve the dispute.

But he admitted: "It's going to be difficult. We are not just going to attend talks and hear a reiteration of the position. We need to have serious dialogue on taking this issue forward."

See: Royal Mail Hit By National Stoppage

(BMcC/KMcA)