Royal Mail agreement to be revealed
Details of an agreement which paved the way for a fresh wave of postal strikes to be halted hours before the latest walkouts were due to start are due to be released.
The 24-hour stoppages were scheduled for Friday and Monday in a long-running row over jobs, pay and pensions.
Members of the Communication Workers' Union have held a series of strikes in recent months which have caused huge delays to mail deliveries but, following several days of talks between the union leaders and the Royal Mail, an agreement was finally reached on Thursday night.
Dave Ward, the union's deputy general secretary, said he was pleased with the agreement, which had been accepted unanimously by the postal executive of the CWU.
"We can now have a period of calm where we hope we can genuinely take forward modernisation in a way that puts the union at the centre," he said.
"Our members will now know we can deal with modernisation in a way that gives them improved job security and improved terms and conditions."
The two sides will have the support of the conciliation service Acas during negotiations over the next few months, he added.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson welcomed the agreement and thanked TUC general secretary Brendan Barber for helping broker a way forward.
He said: "Strikes do nothing to help Royal Mail, its business, its future prospects and of course the jobs and livelihoods of those who work in Royal Mail.
"I hope very much indeed that we will not see further strikes, and I hope very much indeed that if there are any issues that have got to be resolved, if there are wrinkles in the modernisation process which is absolutely vital for Royal Mail, that these wrinkles will be smoothed out by discussion and negotiation without resorting to further strikes in the future."
