POST OFFICE: PAY DISPUTE
Further to LTB 549/20 dated 17th November 2020. Following today’s meeting under
the auspices of Stage 2 of the Collective Dispute Resolution Procedure (CDRP), it is
disappointing to report that no progress was made and we were met with an obdurate
stance by both Al Cameron, Chief Financial Officer and Lisa Cherry, Group Chief People
Officer. Unfortunately there was no attempt whatsoever to reach an agreement by the
Post Office and not even a pretence of attempting to negotiate.
The Post Office was completely dismissive of the Union’s legitimate arguments for a fair
and reasonable pay agreement and said our members were overpaid in comparison to
“the market”. Al Cameron in particular pointed to the franchising of Crown Post Offices
and said franchise partners pay considerably less to their employees. At no point was
there any acknowledgement of the extreme legal costs / compensation associated with
Horizon and the poor decision making by the Post Office Directors in this respect.
Lisa Cherry’s justification for the poor pay offer was to say that our members hadn’t
suffered any detriment unlike other workers during the pandemic. The Government’s
position in regard to pay for public sector workers for next year was also referenced.
Evidently this attitude demonstrates a race to the bottom mentality.
The Post Office’s intransigence is even more disturbing as the CFO reported they are on
track this year to deliver a £20m+ profit, which clearly will be delivered by the frontline
workers. This includes all of our members who are key workers, which at no point
was recognised by these Post Office leaders.
We have now agreed to enter Stage 3 of the CDRP which means we will have to meet
again within 5 working days. However, if the Post Office were to adopt an identical
position to today, it is an absolute certainty this pay dispute will be referred to Acas.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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