“Significant” progress has been made in the ongoing negotiations between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU), with the two parties issuing a joint statement.
The statement was signed by Royal Mail CEO Alistair Cochrane and CWU deputy general secretary (postal) Martin Walsh.
It said that on Monday 30 March the two sides had reached an agreed timeline for concluding the two Achieving National Agreement (Dispute Resolution) procedures covering deployment of Universal Service reform and equalisation of new entrants’ terms of the conditions.
Royal Mail had previously called for “urgent deployment” of the reformed Universal Service Obligation.
“At the end of the formal process, while significant progress had been made, there were some remaining issues to resolve,” the joint statement said.
“Given the progress made, it was agreed to hold further talks and we are pleased to report that the key principles have now been agreed.
“Both parties are aiming to finalise an agreement next week.”
A further update will be provided in due course.
In a letter to branches explaining the latest situation, Walsh and CWU general secretary Dave Ward also said that following last month’s session about Royal Mail’s quality of service issues at Parliament’s Business and Trade Select Committee, the CWU has received a letter from the select committee inviting the union to provide additional evidence about “the serious issues in Royal Mail”.
The CWU also reported that a further tripartite meeting took place with Peter Kyle the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, the CWU, and Daniel Křetínský the owner of Royal Mail parent group International Distribution Services.
“There has been a clear indication that the government understand the challenges facing the workforce and the company and that they are willing to continue to support us to deliver the best solution for customers, workers and the future of the company,” the letter stated.
Royal Mail stamp prices go up next week, on 7 April, with First Class stamps increasing by 5.9% to £1.80 and Second Class by 4.6% to 91p.