CWU ballot result

We are disappointed CWU members have voted 94.5% in favour of industrial action.

We believe there are no grounds for industrial action. Based on what CWU have said, we note that with a 63.4% turnout – and taking into account frontline employees who are not union members – 53.9% have backed industrial action.

Our position

We welcome and appreciate CWU’s statement that now is not the time to take industrial action.

• We contacted CWU last week to work together to protect our people, our country and our company. We are talking to them about how we can do that together.
• The postal service is a key part of the UK’s infrastructure at this time. We are delivering, as usual, to communities across the country.
• The delivery of parcels and letters is a key way of keeping the country together and helping many people who may not have the option to leave their homes.
• As the coronavirus crisis has developed, we have worked with CWU to formulate and implement the appropriate sick pay and absence policy for our colleagues.
• We jointly agreed the policy and communicated it to our colleagues last week.
• Colleagues, including those with less than one year’s service, will receive full pay in relation to any coronavirus illness or self-isolation.
• We have made adjustments to our parcel handling procedures to protect our colleagues and our customers.

In February, we offered a 6%, three-year pay proposal for our CWU-grade people. This means an increase, including the first hour of the shorter working week, of more than 16% between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023.

We can only afford to do this, however, if we deliver the Plan announced to our stakeholders last year.

Our negotiating team is ready to continue the dialogue to agree a framework to try to find a resolution to the current dispute. We are meeting soon. We want to reach agreement.