A postal strike is closer than a boarding house scrape of butter, but in these times of public sector austerity the main battle between Britain’s Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union has not been over pay but communication. Last year’s Hooper report into the Royal Mail pleaded for modernisation and efficiency in a service that lags well behind its European peers. Now, with a modernisation programme under way, the CWU’s claim of insufficient communication appears to be a reaction to painful change, especially as “efficiency” can be a euphemism for “job cuts”.

The structural shift towards electronic communication has cut postal volumes, yet delays in both technology improvements and curbs on staff numbers have left the business on shaky ground. Royal Mail forecasts a 10 per cent drop in volumes compared with last year, which could equate to a £700m loss of revenue. This will hit its letters division hard; in the year to April, it reported revenues of £6.8bn yet only managed a £58m operating profit.