An end could be in sight to the long-running dispute at Royal Mail.
Over the weekend the Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced that it had reached a “negotiators agreement” with Royal Mail Group, after nearly a year of strife between its members and the postal operator.
The CWU said that its postal executive would be meeting today (17 April) and tomorrow to consider the agreement.
“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,” stated CWU general secretary Dave Ward and Andy Furey acting deputy general secretary (postal) in a joint statement.
Royal Mail and CWU also issued a joint statement, that said: “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.”
More than 115,000 CWU members have been involved in the dispute over pay and working practices, with 18 days of strike action taken last year and a toxic working environment developing between many posties and Royal Mail management.
Royal Mail put a £200m price tag on the cost of the disruption caused by the strikes.
The CWU also launched a ‘no confidence’ action against Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson, and last month Royal Mail was referred to regulator Ofcom over failures to meet its Universal Service Obligation.
Shares in Royal Mail parent company International Distributions Services rose by 5.57% today, to 244.50p (52-week high: 249.70p, low: 236.37p).