Royal Mail agreement bolsters union role

The CWU communications union has secured its position "at the heart" of the Royal Mail's business, following a stand-off earlier this year over management's attempts to impose major changes. Under the new "Shaping the Future" agreement, change will be managed utilising agreed industrial relations procedures - the union will be fully involved, rather than being bypassed.

There will be joint training of reps and managers in the skills necessary to understand the business, and a new industrial relations framework, with the employer providing financial support.

The opening-up of the mail market to full competition, plans for increased automation and a big pensions deficit are seen as the biggest challenges that the union and the company has ever faced.

A CWU spokesperson told Labour Research that the pay and efficiency aspects of the deal had been agreed at an early stage, but the issues of union recognition and "growing the business" had proved more difficult.

The agreement removes the limit on profitable "door to door" (junk mail) deliveries, and new working practices will go on trial at six mail centres and 18 delivery offices.

But the imposed pay increase has been replaced with an agreed package: there will be no compulsory redundancies or enforced moves from full-time to part-time employment, and the pension deficit will be paid without raising members' contributions or delaying retirement.