Royal Mail chief Crozier tells union: 'shut up and reach an agreement'

by Noelle McElhatton, marketingdirectmag.co.uk 26-Oct-09, 09:19

LONDON - Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail, made his first public pronouncement on the national strike when he told union leaders to "shut up" and to stop making "nonsensical" claims.

Crozier went on the BBC One's Andrew Marr show yesterday to break his silence and send a message to the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

"I think one of the ways for common sense to prevail is for people to stop some...(of the) exaggerated claims about backlogs that people use in the industry, exaggerated claims about trying to get government involved," he said.

"[There has been] A lot of nonsense said about this subject, load of nonsense written about this subject. I think people would be better placed to, in the nicest possible way, shut up, get on with these tasks, and get back to an agreement."

Today senior management from Royal Mail and the CWU will meet with TUC managers to try and avert three days of strikes scheduled to start this Thursday.

Royal Mail this morning said it would reduce the mail backlog to 5 million letters by the end of today, down from 30 million, a figure disputed by the CWU.

Up to 120,000 postal workers are due to stage a three-day stoppage from Thursday, prompting the CWU to warn that there could be a backlog of 150 million letters.

Crozier, who has been criticized for his silence and low profile regarding the strike so far, said the dispute was "not about pay" and that "there will be fewer jobs" as modernization proceeds.

Crozier will not attend the talks himself, despite being urged to by Billy Hayes, the CWU's general secretary.

Postal strike – DM agency reaction: "there isn't time to change postal delivery supplier"

More Than's marketing director on how the strike affects the insurance giant

Royal Mail strike: winners and losers