At the annual CWU policy forum in London this morning union members agreed to hold a strike ballot no later than September this year unless job protection and service agreements could be secured with Royal Mail.

The ballot proposal would involve around 115,000 Royal Mail workers. Parcelforce Worldwide and Post Office staff would be excluded.

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward told delegates that unless drastic changes were made he couldn’t see negotiations with Royal Mail succeeding.

"The current situation cannot go on. Postal workers are being squeezed in their workplaces, facing an uncertain future and changes to their pensions.

"There hasn’t yet been a pay rise for staff this year despite healthy company profits of £403 million. But most importantly, we want protections for job security and terms and conditions and these are sadly lacking.
 
"CWU is committed to holding serious negotiations with Royal Mail to achieve settlement on these issues, but efforts to date do not bode well.
 
Ward said that Royal Mail had only begun to take negotiations seriously following the union’s consultative ballot in June at which 92% of nearly 83,000 respondents backed a boycott of downstream access providers and the withdrawal of co-operation on workplace changes. Additionally 99% backed to union’s demand for an over-inflation pay increase and 96% opposed privatisation.
 
"We do not take the decisions to hold a strike ballot lightly. However, we will stop at nothing to ensure that the future of our members’ jobs – and of the services they deliver – are protected."

The union said it was confident that talks would continue over the next couple of weeks but that a resolution was "looking unlikely".

A Royal Mail spokesman said Royal Mail was disappointed that the CWU intended to call for a national strike ballot and that the organisation hoped to find a resolution.

Referring to Royal Mail's offer of an 8.6% pay increase over three years that was tabled earlier this year, he said: "A highly competitive pay offer and agreement has been proposed to the CWU and has been rejected.

"Talks are on-going and we are committed to seeking an agreement. We believe that a ballot on strike action is inappropriate. Disrupting the service Royal Mail provides to its customers is not helpful.
 
"Royal Mail operates in a very competitive market, especially in the parcels market. We recognise that customers have a choice and can move their business very quickly. We want to reach agreement with the CWU as soon as possible to give customers and employees continued stability."