MaltaPost monitoring UK strike talks

Maltapost has been in daily contact with Royal Mail over the last few days to monitor developments in the UK should two 24-hour postal strikes planned for today and tomorrow go ahead.

Talks continued for the third day yesterday between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union as the postal firm tried to avert the nationwide strikes in a row over pay, conditions and modernisation plans.

"The situation with Royal Mail is still very fluid at the moment," Pierre Montebello, chief officer for mails and systems at MaltaPost plc, told The Times Business.

"Since the start of the sporadic industrial actions, we have been in contact with Royal Mail international operations on a daily basis, and mail to and from the UK is being regularly monitored. This is to continue. We are also in contact with other postal operators who use Royal Mail as a transit point for possible rerouting."

Mr Montebello added that the planned actions could cause receipt of mail to be temporarily delayed by three to five days, depending on Royal Mail's recovery following the strike. MaltaPost will update clients if and when delays in mail receipt or delivery are noticed.

The UK's Post Office counters and Parcelforce Worldwide, which is entrusted with the handling of parcels and express mail, are not affected by the dispute, Mr Montebello stressed.

Should the industrial action go ahead, there will be limited processing, movement and collection of post by mail centre staff and drivers in the UK today. Delivery and collection staff could strike tomorrow. Royal Mail has said it will hire 30,000 temporary staff this year, double the 15,000 it usually takes on before Christmas, to soften the impact of what it called "unjustified and irresponsible" industrial action.

Britain's Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said contingency plans for delivery of hospital appointments and medical test results were being drawn up in case the strikes went ahead for prolonged periods.