17 Mar 2020 17:50
Royal Mail plc
(Incorporated in England and Wales)
Company Number: 8680755
LSE Share Code: RMG
ISIN: GB00BDVZYZ77
LEI: 213800TCZZU84G8Z2M70
Outcome of ballot for industrial action
Royal Mail (RMG.L) today received notification from CWU of the results of its Royal Mail member ballot for industrial action.
Royal Mail is disappointed CWU members have voted (94.5 per cent) in favour of industrial action. Based on what CWU said this afternoon, we note that with a 63.4 per cent turnout - and taking into account frontline employees who are not union members (around 12,281) - 53.9 per cent have backed industrial action.
In a ballot for CWU members in Parcelforce Worldwide in relation to the point of principle dispute, CWU has reported that the ballot turnout did not meet the 50 per cent legal threshold. In a separate ballot for CWU members in Parcelforce Worldwide in relation to TUPE separation, 95.4 per cent voted in favour of industrial action. Based on what CWU said, with a 51.2 per cent turnout - and taking into account around 1,409 frontline employees who are not union members - 37.1 per cent have backed industrial action.
In February, we offered a six per cent, three-year pay proposal for our CWU-grade people at Royal Mail. This means an increase, including the first hour of the shorter working week, of over 16 per cent between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2023. We can only afford to do this if we deliver the Plan announced to our stakeholders last year.
Shane O'Riordain, Managing Director of Regulation, Corporate Affairs and Marketing, Royal Mail, said: We welcome and appreciate CWU's statement this afternoon 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.
We are ready to discuss CWU's proposals for future strategic business opportunities. 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.
-ends-
For more information, please contact:
Media Relations
Beth Longcroft
Email: beth.longcroft@royalmail.com
Phone: 07435 768 549
Mark Mann
Email: mark.mann@royalmail.com
Phone: 07483 390980.
Royal Mail press office: 020 7449 8246
Investor Relations
John Crosse
Phone: 020 7449 8183
Email: investorrelations@royalmail.com
Company Secretary
Mark Amsden
Phone: 0207 449 8289
Email: cosec@royalmail.com
About Royal Mail plc
Royal Mail plc is the parent company of Royal Mail Group Limited, the leading provider of postal and delivery services in the UK and the UK's designated universal postal service provider. UK Parcels, International & Letters (UKPIL) comprises the company's UK and international parcels and letters delivery businesses operating under the "Royal Mail" and "Parcelforce Worldwide" brands. Through the Royal Mail Core Network, the company delivers a one-price-goes-anywhere service on a range of parcels and letters products. Royal Mail has the capability to deliver to more than 30 million addresses in the UK, six days a week (excluding UK public holidays). Parcelforce Worldwide operates a separate UK network which collects and delivers express parcels. Royal Mail also owns General Logistics Systems (GLS) which operates one of the largest ground-based, deferred parcel delivery networks in Europe.