Royal Mail strikes: CWU agree deal over pay and conditions to bring end to strikes

Royal Mail and union leaders have come to an agreement after a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) and the postal service announced they have come to an agreement in a joint statement on Saturday. Postal workers staged a series of walkouts last year, including in the run-up to Christmas.

Earlier this month the CWU leaders pulled back from announcing fresh strikes by Royal Mail workers. At the time, Mr Ward said the union’s leaders did not believe more strikes were the right thing to do but there might come a time when more industrial action is called.

The deal comes as Ofcom has confirmed that it is considering launching an investigation into Royal Mail following a recommendation by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee.

Pay deal reached

The Royal Mail said in a statement: “After almost a year of talks, Royal Mail and the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) are pleased to announce they have reached a negotiators’ agreement in principle.

“The proposed agreement will now be considered by the executive of the union before being voted on by the union’s membership.

“An announcement on the detailed content of the proposed agreement will be made when it is ratified by the union’s executive committee. It is expected this will take place next week.”

CWU general secretary Dave Ward and deputy general secretary Andy Furey added: “We have reached a negotiators’ agreement with Royal Mail group. The CWU postal executive will now meet and consider the agreement on Monday and Tuesday and we are putting in place plans to brief representatives across the union’s structures.

“On the basis that the negotiators’ agreement is endorsed by the postal executive, we will put in place a full communications plan to engage members. Thank you for your support and patience. It has got us to this point.”

Acas director of dispute resolution Kate Nowicki said: “Following constructive Acas talks, we are pleased to have helped the CWU and Royal Mail reach a proposed agreement. I want to thank the parties for their commitment and patience in Acas talks that allowed us all to find a positive way forward.”

Ofcom considering investigation

Regulators are considering calls from the BEIS committee for investigations into Royal Mail, over concerns about data usage as it relates to tracking devices carried by workers and the company’s obligation to deliver letters to every address in the UK six days per week, known as the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

In its recent report on Royal Mail, following two evidence hearings involving senior figures at Royal Mail which were described by committee members as extraordinary, MPs called for Ofcom to launch an investigation relating to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and the ICO relating to data usage.

The BEIS report noted reports from Royal Mail employees that they had been told to prioritise parcels over letters, which might affect the company’s USO. Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson told the committee in January that these reports were “absolutely not true”.

But postal workers from across the country sent the committee evidence showing local managers instructing staff to prioritise parcels.

The report states: “We believe that Royal Mail has deprioritised delivery of letters as a matter of company policy and that it has systemically failed to deliver against parts of its USO. The evidence suggests that this practice has taken place not just during periods of industrial action but since the start of the pandemic, if not earlier.”

A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “We measure Royal Mail’s performance against annual delivery targets, from April to March. We are now preparing to make a decision about whether to investigate Royal Mail’s performance and we will take this decision after Royal Mail has reported for the whole financial year.”

A spokesperson for the ICO said: "We have received the report from the Select Committee, including its recommendation to the ICO, and will respond accordingly.”