UK's Royal Mail Workers Plan June 29 Strike

Britain's state-run postal service, Royal Mail, is facing its first national strike in 11 years on June 29.

Britain's state-run postal service, Royal Mail, is facing its first national strike in 11 years on June 29 after the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said talks over pay and job cuts had broken down.

The CWU said its members would strike for 24 hours, with possible further action to follow.

"We are prepared to continue to talk to Royal Mail but we have said to them that we have also agreed further strike action that is designed to take place within two weeks of June 29 if we can't reach an agreement," the union said. The CWU said earlier in June its members had voted in favour of industrial action due to Royal Mail's "below inflation pay offer" and its plans to reduce the workforce by around 40,000, or about 27 percent, by automating mail-sorting processes.

Royal Mail said the strike would add to the challenges it faces but it would continue to try and resolve the situation.

"We remain very willing to sit down with the CWU to explain again the absolute need for Royal Mail to modernise," Royal Mail Chief Executive Adam Crozier said.

Royal Mail said it had to modernise to prevent the business from failing and that the only way it could improve pay, protect pensions and deliver customer service was by modernising. Royal Mail is fighting private competition from Business Post, Dutch mail company TNT NV and others after losing its 350-year monopoly on postal services last year.

The group, which said earlier this week it had lost an 8 million pounds ($16 million) contract with online retailer Amazon.com, lost key business when the British government began paying benefits such as state pensions directly to claimants' bank accounts rather than through post offices.

The growth of email, text messages and the purchase of tax discs and television licences over the Internet have also dented profits.