The Royal Mail has announced it has agreed a pay deal with 12,000 of its managers as postal workers continue a strike which has crippled deliveries across the UK.
The firm said it signed a deal on pay, modernisation and pension reform, including a 2.5% wage rise backdated to April for the managers.
The agreement also includes reforming the pension arrangements, according to Royal Mail.
A spokesman said it was an "excellent deal" for Royal Mail managers, adding: "It provides a 2.5% basic pay rise this year - which does not exceed what the company can afford - while recognising the positive role that managers will play in the modernisation of Royal Mail, essential to enable the company to compete in a market open to full competition."
Meanwhile members of the Communication Workers Union continued with a 48-hour strike, which will end at noon on Saturday, after rejecting a 2.5% pay offer and warning that the Royal Mail's modernisation plans would lead to 40,000 job losses.
Talks between the two sides continued on Saturday after the industrial action started, but there is little sign of a breakthrough in the long-running row.
The union has criticised the Government for not getting more involved in efforts to resolve the dispute.
Workers will stage a second 48-hour strike from early on Monday so deliveries will be affected until next week.
Businesses have warned that the strikes are causing huge problems for firms.
