British Postal Worker Deal Getting Closer
The union representing British postal workers may decide today whether to recommend a pay deal that has emerged from a month of intense negotiations with the government's arbitration and conciliation service.Members of the Communication Workers Union voted last month to strike the first week in March if no progress were made in talks. The employees want a 5 percent pay raise. Royal Mail has offered a 2 percent increase, with a further 0.5 percent if customer quality of service targets are met. Union members approved a strike earlier this month but delayed setting dates in hopes that an agreement could be reached.
The offer from Royal Mail now consists of a two-year deal with overall increases of 6.9 percent.
John Keggie, CWU's deputy general secretary who led the negotiations, said the settlement was "just and fair taking into account the overall financial position of the business. ... We can now turn our attention to the future of our industry, and in particular challenging the regulator's disastrous proposals and building our campaign for a first-class publicly owned national postal service."
