Crucial talks in bid to avert postal strike

Crucial talks aimed at averting the first national strike by postal workers in seven years are being held.

Leaders of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) are meeting Royal Mail managers at the conciliation service Acas in a bid to resolve a row over pay.

The union has accused the Royal Mail of being "dishonest" by claiming that the latest offer was worth 14.5% over 18 months.

Union officials said the offer contained "more strings than the Philharmonic Orchestra" and complained that the only definite money was 3% from October and a further 1.5% next April.

The union was also hardening its opposition to redundancies, warning that the postal service was being "destroyed" because of plans to cut 30,000 jobs.

CWU negotiators, led by deputy general secretary Dave Ward, were arguing that more money should be offered up front and that the deal should not be so closely linked to productivity measures.

The Royal Mail, which is losing £750,000 a day, insisted that the offer was worth 14.5% although it was linked to some productivity changes.

Some of the extra money is tied to the introduction of single mail deliveries.

The offer, which covers 160,000 postal workers, would cost the Royal Mail £340 million a year.

The last national strike by postal workers, in 1996, was also over pay when deliveries were crippled because of a series of walkouts.

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