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(Sharecast News) - Royal Mail's "best and final offer" to striking workers was rejected on Wednesday afternoon, with hundreds of thousands of postal workers set to walk out on Thursday and Friday.
The national postal operator, owned by the FTSE 250 company International Distribution Services, made the offer earlier in the day as it said the series of industrial action over recent weeks had cost it £100m so far.
According to the Evening Standard, the latest offer from the company included "extensive improvements" made during the latest round of negotiations with the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
It included a pay rise offer of up to 9% over 18 months, the development of a profit sharing scheme for employees, and improving its voluntary redundancy offer terms.
The company also said it would commit to making no compulsory redundancies for at least the next three months, and would offer to buy out a number of "legacy" allowances.
Sunday working would be voluntary, and the controversial introduction of later start and finish times would be staggered over three years.
Royal Mail also amended its seasonal working proposals, meaning employees would work around two hours less each week in summer, and two hours more in winter.
"Talks have lasted for seven months and we have made numerous improvements and two pay offers, which would now see up to a 9% pay increase over 18 months alongside a host of other enhancements," said Royal Mail chief executive officer Simon Thompson.
"This is our best and final offer.
"Negotiations involve give and take, but it appears that the CWU's approach is to just take."
Thompson said the company wanted to reach a deal, but warned that time was "running out" for the CWU to change its position, and avoid further strike action on Thursday.
In response, postal workers warned of the "end of Royal Mail as we know it", with 115,000 employees taking part in the 48-hour strike.
The CWU said its members were walking out after a unanimous no-confidence vote in Simon Thompson at "thousands of workplace gate meetings" this week.
"We are disappointed that instead of reaching a compromise to avoid major disruption, Royal Mail has chosen to pursue such an aggressive strategy," said CWU general secretary Dave Ward.
"We will not accept that 115,000 Royal Mail workers - the people who kept us connected during the pandemic, and made millions in profit for bosses and shareholders - take such a devastating blow to their livelihoods.
"These proposals spell the end of Royal Mail as we know it, and its degradation from a national institution into an unreliable, Uber-style gig economy company."
Ward quipped that British postal workers were facing an "Armageddon" moment.
"We urge every member of the public to stand with their postie, and back them like never before."
At 1527 GMT, shares in International Distribution Services were down 3.07% at 236.7p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
