THE CWU has urged postal members to back its latest deal with the Royal Mail as it launched ballots on the agreement today.

The deal comes after months of negotiations with the employer and regulator Ofcom on the future of the universal service obligation (USO), and would see workers moved on to a new delivery pattern, adding 3,500 new routes as part of efforts to lighten workloads that have soared in recent years.

A connected agreement also promises progress toward unpicking the two-tier workforce in place at the Royal Mail, with those who joined after December 2022 seeing an additional pay boost to close gaps with their longer-serving comrades.

Urging members to back both, CWU deputy general secretary (postal) Martin Walsh told the Morning Star: “I think it’s a crucial agreement and we’ve changed the company’s position on USO reform.

“USO reform has to happen, Ofcom’s changed the regulation and we’ve got an important first step on equalisation.

“Not many companies ever turn around a two-tier workforce.

“This is an important first step, it’s not everything we want, but it does move us on.

“We’re asking all our members to vote Yes to both the agreements and that allows us to go forward to tackle some of the real critical things which Royal Mail need to survive like a level playing field, reform of Ofcom and a growth strategy.

“Self-employed contractors for Evri and Amazon are able to charge £13.50 an hour because Evri don’t pay a wage, Evri don’t pay National Insurance, don’t pay pension, don’t pay holidays.

“There’s a risk if we don’t get a level playing field, Royal Mail will become a self-employed model in the future.”