Royal Mail urges union to meet at Acas

Royal Mail is to take its latest pay offer for the UK’s 160,000 postmen and women to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) in an effort to avoid "damaging disruption" to postal services.

The offer – which Royal Mail says is 14.5% - is linked to changes already outlined in Royal Mail’s turnaround plan, including the introduction of a new transport network and the move to a single daily mail delivery.

The latest offer – linked to performance and increased efficiency – will see a basic pay rise of 3% effective 6 October 2003, followed by a 1.5% rise in basic pay effective 5 April 2004.

Also, targeted mail centres will be called upon to save between 5% and 10% in staff costs by March 2004.

Royal Mail also confirmed the closure of four mail centres – Paddington, Slough, Guildford and Farnborough – occurring in the next two years.

Chief Executive Adam Crozier said: “We’ve put a great offer on the table which makes good our promise to up postmen and women’s minimum basic pensionable weekly pay from £262 to £300. It’s an offer which brings together above inflation wage increases with substantial extra rises for the changes which Royal Mail must make. ACAS have tackled these issues with us before and I hope they can help us to get the £300 a week pay packet off the negotiating table and into postmen and women’s pockets as soon as possible.”

He added: “What’s on the table now is better and simpler than the agreements that the same leadership recommended to CWU members in June. And there are no new job losses that the leadership haven’t already accepted and helped us to manage fairly and in the best interests of our people.”

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) had submitted pay claim calling for: substantial increases in pay and allowances; a reduction in the working week; a claim for a substantial increase in payments made under Recruitment and Retention Incentive Schemes; movement towards a common pay date across all businesses; and a substantial increase in London Weighting.

The CWU has decided to ballot its 160,000 Royal Mail members for industrial action over the business’ 2003 pay offer.

Dave Ward, the union’s postal deputy general secretary, said: “Specifically we would have to accept the loss of 30,000 jobs in the industry. We will not do this. It would be signing the death warrant for the entire postal service. It would condemn the Royal Mail to massive and terminal decline.”

Mr Ward has written to the company today pointing out that the ballot decision would not be implemented for "a week to 10 days".

“This gives Royal Mail time to reconsider what they have offered us. If they are prepared to do so, the CWU is always ready to negotiate,” he added.

It is expected that formal notification of the ballot commencing will be made to Royal Mail next week.

(GMcG)