Royal Mail Reportedly Mulls Scrapping Major Deal With Union on Job Protection Ahead of Strikes
05:56 GMT, 25 August 2022
Earlier this year, Royal Mail announced plans to scrap about 700 management jobs in a bid to reduce costs by about £40 million per year as inflation soars.
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Royal Mail is considering tearing up a "groundbreaking" deal on job security with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) as postal workers are preparing for a series of strikes to demand a pay raise amid the cost of living crisis, according to the Telegraph.
The newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying that Royal Mail executives are trying to obtain evidence so that they can trigger break clauses in the deal, known as the “Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long-term Success.”
The sources added that Royal Mail should show that it faces one or more of the exceptional circumstances detailed in its break clauses in order to pull out of the agreement.
They include events, among them a nationwide industrial strike, that could have a “material adverse effect” on the UK postal service’s business or prospects. The insiders claimed that no final decision has been taken, but that Royal Mail “is said to be ready to act amid mounting losses, a declining letter market and evolving demand for parcel deliveries."
18 August 2022, 08:07 GMT
The sources argued that if Royal Mail finally decides to tear up the deal, it will prompt legal action from the CWU, which is why Britain’s postal service is allegedly already working with advisers from the London-headquartered international firm DAC Beachcroft on its potential response.
The remarks came after a Royal Mail spokesperson lashed out at the CWU over its purported desire “to work fewer hours, six days a week, starting earlier and finishing earlier” whereas the postal service’s “competitors work seven days a week, delivering until 10pm to meet customer demand”.
"Their [CWU] plans to transform Royal Mail come with a £1billion price tag, are predicated on a wholly unrealistic revival in letter writing, and prevent Royal Mail from growing, and remaining competitive, in a fast-moving industry,” according to the spokesperson.
They asserted that the CWU’s vision for Royal Mail “would create a vicious spiral of falling volumes, higher prices, bigger losses, and fewer jobs.” The spokesperson stressed that Royal Mail “cannot cling to outdated working practices, ignoring technological advancements and pretending that COVID has not significantly changed what the public wants from Royal Mail. The change we need is the change the public demand of us.”
CWU General Secretary Dave Ward, for his part, accused the postal service of trying to "level down" the company, adding, “We are not surprised by this and we will not be fazed by it either. We are up for this fight and we are confident the public will support us.”
“Royal Mail wants to change the whole basis of what the company is about. The board's proposals will turn it into just another parcel courier – they are about abandoning the universal service obligation and making as much profit as possible. We think they are taking liberties, not just with our members but also the public, and that is why we are taking strike action,” Ward added.
He referred to the strikes that are planned between August 26 and 31 as well as September 8-9, something that the union claimed would this summer’s largest walkout, with workers expected to demand a “dignified, proper pay raise.”
22 August 2022, 16:22 GMT
Ward previously said that one cannot “keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks.” According to him, “the CWU's message to Royal Mail's leadership is simple - there will be serious disruption until you get real on pay.”
The “Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long-term Success” was signed between Royal Mail and the CWU in December 2013. The Telegraph reported that the agreement restricts the postal service from "practices including outsourcing, employing new workers on different terms to existing staff, franchising out any part of its business as well as making compulsory redundancies and using temporary labor".