Postal strike off

The threat of a national postal strike ended today when Royal Mail workers narrowly rejected taking industrial action over pay.

Members of the Communication Workers Union had been expected to back a series of walkouts as part of a campaign to win a bigger pay rise than one being offered by the Royal Mail.

But the union announced that 46,391 workers voted in favour of industrial action and 48,038 voted against.

The result means that 49.1% voted in favour of industrial action and 50.9% voted against.

The strikes had been due to start next week and continue into the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth the week after.
A spokesman for the Royal Mail said: "The great majority of our people and all of our customers will feel relief at this result.
"We put 14.5% over 18 months on the table because we believe it gives postmen and women a fair weekly wage and offer customers the best service.
"Our overriding priority is to move forward and get the money into people's pockets. The rejection of a national strike offers everyone in Royal Mail the opportunity to focus on completing the company's turnaround and continue to improve customer service."
In a separate dispute, London postal workers voted in favour of strike action over the London weighting allowance.
A total of 11,417 votes were cast in favour of a strike and 4,316 were cast against.
A CWU statement said: "While the national ballot is disappointing news for the union, Royal Mail cannot view a less than 1% majority as a mandate for massive job losses across the industry.
"There is no agreed process to deal with major change in the industry but the union remains committed to reaching a national settlement with Royal Mail which deals with all aspects of the challenges that face the industry and our members.
"The negotiating team have advised Royal Mail that they remain available for further negotiations with the clear objective of reaching an agreement acceptable to all our members.
"In respect of London we have a clear mandate for strike action and the executive will be considering the position over the next days."
The union had been pressing for an upfront payment of 8% after rejecting the Royal Mail's offer of 14.5%, linked to productivity improvements.