Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are
heading back to the bargaining table today in an effort to avoid
the strikes scheduled for 22nd and 23rd October, reports
Personnel Today. Royal Mail has told
Sky News it would call in mediation service
Acas to oversee negotiations with the CWU if the union would
call off the strike. Meanwhile, the CWU has threatened legal
action against Royal Mail over its hiring of 30,000 temporary
workers to help deal with the backlog from the union’s local
work stoppages of the past few months, according to The Telegraph. Royal Mail says that the
temp workers are not meant to replace the striking employees,
which would be illegal. The Telegraph also reports that private
carrier TNT is lobbying the government to allow it to handle
“final mile” deliveries during any Royal Mail
strikes.
For the three months to 2nd October, Flying
Brands posted sales from continuing operation of
£5.5 million, down 2 per cent from the comparable period of
2008. Sales at its Gardening Direct business
were up 30 per cent, to £2.3 million. Sales at its
Flying Flowers brand fell 12.5 per cent, to
£1.4 million, but they were more-profitable sales than last
year’s.
Express Gifts is the latest direct merchant to
drop Royal Mail as its parcel carrier because of the
uncertainty surrounding the strikes, reports The Citizen.
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