THE chairman of the Isle of Man Post Office said he is open to further talks with the Communication Workers Union over the current pay disagreement.
The Post Office said it has received a letter from Terry Pullinger of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) which states the union has a "desire to try and identify a resolution acceptable to all parties without resorting to strike action".
Last week the majority of postal workers in the union voted in favour of strike action following months of negotiations over the 2010 pay agreement.
The Post Office has been unable to grant its employees a general pay rise this year following the freeze on all public sector pay budgets. Pay was last increased at 2.5 percent for all staff in April 2009 for the year ending March 31, 2010
Chairman Alan Crowe said: "I was pleased to receive the letter from Mr Pullinger and welcomed its content and I will be responding shortly.
"Isle of Man Post Office continues to be open to further talks with the union but these talks would be against the backdrop of the freeze on public sector pay budgets.
"Strike action would be reckless and its only outcome would be damage to the Post Office, jeopardising customer and public support and putting jobs at risk. It would not change the freeze on public sector pay budgets that is currently in place.
"We are aware the CWU branch is holding a meeting on Sunday. We continue to urge all staff not to strike and to consider carefully the damaging impact any strike action would have."
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