3rd Feb 2021 16:13
(Alliance News) - Royal Mail PLC on Wednesday said is pleased that members of the Communication Workers Union voted "overwhelmingly" in favour of the framework agreement on the strategy and future direction of Royal Mail.
The parcel and letter carrier said the 92% of the union's eligible member voted in favour of the agreement, which covers subjects including operational change, pay and job security.
The FTSE 250-listed firm said: "The agreement will allow Royal Mail to make more frequent revisions to the network and introduce the use of technology to improve both customer service and efficiency. Deployment of revisions and realignment activity is planned for all operational areas by the end of October 2021, with annual revisions thereafter.
"The introduction of technology will replace handwritten manual signâ€in and signâ€out and provide more meaningful data to enable a more efficient service to customers. There will also be a revised and quicker dispute resolution process to enable agreement on change to happen more quickly, and a process to trial and deploy new ways of working and technology more swiftly."
Royal Mail said a review of the operational network will be concluded by April. The review will support and build on proposals for the parcel network, maintain an efficient letters operation and prioritise investment for further expansion.
"This will include how we operate our new parcel hubs and introduce dedicated van delivery duties for parcels, as well as exploring the opportunity for more frequent deliveries throughout the week," the firm said.
As far as pay and job security is concerned, Royal Mail confirmed that the agreement includes a two-year pay deal for Communication Workers Union colleagues. This includes a 2.7% pay increase effective from April last year as well as a further pay increase of 1% with effect from April this year.
"We are now working with CWU to implement the changes we need, in order to capitalise on the significant growth we have seen in parcels so far this year," Royal Mail said.
By Greg Roxburgh; [email protected]
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