Policy & Research

Background briefings

Agreement between Royal Mail and CWU

During the second half of 2009 postal staff who were members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) staged a series of strikes across the country. This was followed by a period of discussion between the management of the CWU and Royal Mail facilitated by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), resulting in the announcement of an agreement (Business Transformation: 2010 and Beyond PDF 324KB) on 8 March 2010.

This agreement sets out a shared vision for the future of Royal Mail and its workers. It allows Royal Mail to make vital modernisation to it network, while providing staff with strong job security. It is valid for the next three years, until April 2013.

CWU members were balloted on this agreement on 27 April 2010. The CWU held a series of roadshow meetings with branch reps ahead of the ballot. On the day of the ballot the CWU announced that returns showed members had voted two to one in favour of the deal.

These strikes had a severe effect on Royal Mail’s Quality of Service, and Royal Mail missed most of its targets for delivery for 2009/10. This caused detriment to consumers who have a right to expect their mail to be delivered in accordance with these targets, which were agreed by Consumer Focus and Postcomm, the postal regulator. With the signing of this agreement consumers can look forward to improved performance by Royal Mail in their delivery of post.