Royal Mail Dispute: Factual Position On Status Of Talks

What did that Royal Mail letter say?

Branches will be aware that in media interviews today Royal Mail Director of Operations Paul Tolhurst has been inviting the Union to “sign the agreement” he claims was reached by the negotiating teams late on Tuesday night.  We have received reports that managers have been briefing staff in similar terms and Royal Mail have released a press statement which quotes Royal Mail Managing Director Mark Higson claiming “we have an agreement that was reached on Tuesday night…… but the Union Leaders who were in the negotiations could not get the support of their own Executive”.

Sadly, this is a further demonstration of the deliberate dishonesty of Senior Royal Mail managers. 

We attach a letter received from Mr Higson on Wednesday morning together with the Union’s reply.  The factual position is this – progress was made in talks, as reported in Letter to Branches 927/09 yesterday.    Talks had not concluded and needed to continue – that was the position of both parties.  Mr Higson repeated this fact in his letter.  Later on the same day, he reversed his own position again by offering the negotiators draft form of words to be signed as an agreement.   

There was no negotiators’ agreement – there is a set of draft words, some accepted by both sets of negotiators, some not.  The EC did not reject an agreement – as Royal Mail is well aware there wasn’t one to consider.  The EC had to take a decision based on whether sufficient progress had been made to postpone the planned strike action to allow talks to continue in a calm environment with the intent of reaching a full and final agreement.  Mr Higson’s letter wiped out key areas of progress, particularly where the draft read “In offices where change has been implemented without agreement the local parties will engage in genuine negotiations to reach local agreement” as compared to the words in Mr Higson’s letter “there is no going back on change”.

The EC was faced with a form of words from Royal Mail’s negotiators versus a formal letter from the company’s Managing Director which diametrically opposed his negotiating team’s position.  In these circumstances there was only one decision that could be taken – that the strikes had to go ahead.  This latest development further highlights why it is virtually impossible to build confidence in Royal Mail’s Senior Management Team and explains why the Postal Executive has agreed to reinforce our offer for third party mediation through ACAS.

Contrary to further misinformation put out by Royal Mail, Mr Higson – the Managing Director – has not attended a single one of our negotiating meetings.  His letter, which was clearly intended to be widely circulated, is carefully constructed to imply that he has been meeting the Union, as have repeated statements by the Chief Executive Adam Crozier, as part of a deliberate attempt to mislead the media, the government and his own employees. 

Its time Royal Mail concentrated on resolving the dispute instead of spinning lies about it.  What it takes is simple – a real willingness to negotiate seriously – endorsed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive – in offices where changes have been imposed on our members without agreement, coupled with a willingness to reach agreement going forward which safeguards jobs and earnings through the period of massive change which the business will undergo in the next few years by completing the new agreements both parties committed to in the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement.

Yours sincerely

                                             
Dave Ward                                                                Martin Collins
Deputy General Secretary (P)                            Assistant Secretary

                                       
Ray Ellis                                      Bob Gibson                                Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary                Assistant Secretary               Assistant Secretary

Download Royal Mail letter