Royal Mail has proposed what it has called a new “conditional pay-to-change offer” to the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) in a bid to end a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. The offer includes a 7% salary increase over two years, as well as a one-off payment of 2% of this year’s pay. The pay offer includes a 5.5% increase for the current financial year, including the 2% already paid. In addition, workers will be paid an additional 1.5% from April 2023. Royal Mail said the offer was dependent on the CWU agreeing to a program of changes to working patterns at the 500-year-old company, including changes to Sunday shifts, different start times and more flexible working. The company, which employs around 140,000 people, has been adamant that such changes are necessary to compete in the growing parcel delivery market. Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson said on Monday: “Royal Mail made a loss of £219m in the first half of the year. This demonstrates once again that the need for change at Royal Mail is urgent.” He urged CWU leaders to accept the offer and call off further strike action, adding: “We have always been clear that the more we can change the business, the more we will be able to pay our people – both now and in the future. “ However, the CWU described these changes as “unacceptable” and called the pay offer “pessimistic” and “well below projected inflation for both years”. Royal Mail’s new offer came a day after the CWU called off a new series of planned strikes over the next two weeks following a challenge by the company. The union said at the weekend it had decided to withdraw the industrial action notices by November 12, following a letter from Royal Mail’s legal team. The two sides held talks at conciliation agency Acas on Monday before Royal Mail announced its increased pay offer and proposed changes to working practices. The CWU accuses the company of “imposing change rather than negotiating it” and has pledged that postal workers will vote for further strike action. The improved pay offer does not apply to CWU members at Royal Mail who work for Parcelforce, nor to fleet employees – those responsible for maintaining the company’s trucks and vans – who are in separate bargaining units. The CWU said the company was trying to bring in new workers on “lower terms” and accused it of “bringing owner-drivers into Royal Mail – a service that will be comparable to Uber”. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. A CWU spokesman said: “These proposals are about dismantling a 500-year-old service and destroying the lives of those who serve it. Make no mistake – Royal Mail bosses have just declared war on your postman.’ Around 115,000 Royal Mail workers who are members of the CWU have previously been on strike for several days since August. Strikes and falling parcel volumes previously prompted Royal Mail to warn it may have to cut up to 10,000 roles by next August. It warned earlier in October that it expected to make an annual operating loss of around £350m in the year to the end of March. On Monday, the UK government announced it had approved Royal Mail’s largest shareholder – Vesa Equity Investment, an investment vehicle controlled by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský – to increase its stake above 25%, following a national security review owned by the company. The Guardian understands that talks between Royal Mail and the CWU have not broken down and the company is urging the union to submit its latest pay offer to members. The CWU criticized Thompson for not attending talks at Acas on Monday, where CWU general secretary Dave Ward was present. Royal Mail said Thomson was unable to attend due to other commitments but would attend in the future, adding that the company was represented in the negotiations by another board member.
