Deal to end strike is vindication of action, says post union
By The head of the post union in Bristol has said the deal which ended the latest round of strike action is a vindication of the battle his members have fought since the summer.
An agreement was reached on Thursday for a “period of calm” in which Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) could hold further talks to reach a long-term deal.
It means there will be no further action by the CWU until at least the New Year, providing relief for consumers and businesses hit hard by the strikes.
Both sides have agreed to establish a “radically different culture”, which has pleased Dave Wilshire – branch secretary of the CWU in the city.
Speaking to Bristol24-7, he said the deal was “very good news” and looked forward to a full and final agreement at the end of the year.
“In April, Royal Mail said they weren’t even going to speak to the union,” he said. “Now they have recognised that the union has a role to play in implementing change.
“This is a vindication of our fight and focused Royal Mail’s attention, so that they realise they haven’t taken the staff with them on the changes they have made and want to make.”
The agreement announced last night by Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, allows the two sides in the dispute to revisit changes made to the service without agreement from the union and brings about a detailed set of negotiations between now and December to be overseen by an independent body.
Mr Wilshire added that Royal Mail have signed up to principles of fair and transparent workloads, job security, a reward framework , and agreed full-time to part-time ratios.
He added that his members were pleased as the process had been hard for them financially. “Outside of London, Bristol has been at the forefront of the dispute. People have lost a lot of money to make sure they have jobs worth having in the future.”
The dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions has been running since the summer, as Royal Mail’s attempts to cope with a 10% annual decline in letter volume.
Royal Mail, which has cut more than 50,000 jobs in the last seven years, says modernisation is crucial. The CWU agrees that further job cuts and modernisation are necessary, but wants them achieved by agreement, with an accord on job security for those who remain.
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