Postal workers will begin a series of all-out strikes that mark a significant development in their dispute with Royal Mail.

For the first time during the conflict all members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) who work for Royal Mail will be called out on the same day. They are due to stage their 24-hour walkouts next Friday and the following Monday.

The announcement yesterday came as the two sides restarted peace talks, halfway through a three-day national strike. Negotiations at TUC headquarters had broken down on Wednesday, although both parties said that good progress had been made. Talks are expected to resume next week.

The present industrial action continued for a third day today, as more than 77,000 staff took part in strikes - although Royal Mail says that 25% of its delivery workers turned up for duty today, despite the action.

On Thursday an estimated 44,000 mail centre workers and drivers took part in strike action. Another 400 workers who redirect mail that has been incorrectly addressed also walked out yesterday.

The strikes followed two 24-hour stoppages last week and a series of regional strikes during the summer. The two sides are in dispute about the company’s modernisation plans, which the union says are being implemented badly and will destroy Royal Mail. The company said that they were essential to ensure its survival.

Royal Mail said that the mail backlog caused by this week’s action had risen to 35 million items, although the CWU said that this figure was “laughable” and that between 50 million and 60 million items had been delayed.

The company said that it expected all the undelivered mail to reach customers by early next week and that virtually all delays to the items caught up in last week’s strikes had been cleared.

The planned series of action has the potential to reduce the movement of mail to a trickle and create a backlog exceeding 100 million items.

Royal Mail said that it was recruiting 30,000 temporary workers to deal with the backlog. The union, which said that the employment programme was illegal, was still deciding whether to seek an injunction against the company.

Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s managing director, said that the strikes would distract from the discussions planned between the parties.

“The CWU’s irresponsible behaviour underlines just how muddled and confused the thinking of the union is and how little it really cares about customers or the future of the UK postal service,” he said.

Billy Hayes, the general secretary of the CWU, warned of an increase in action. He said on Thursday that it would be “upping the dispute”, adding: “We will not be scaling it down.”

He said, however: “It is not necessary for this strike to take place and the union remains focused on reaching an agreement. We hope that Royal Mail will also now be equally focused.”

The union leadership has not ruled out striking over the crucial Christmas period.

Brendan Barber, the General Secretary of the TUC, said yesterday that he had made a number of proposals to the two sides on how to resolve the “difficult and complex” dispute. He said that they had agreed to look at them over the weekend.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills said that the dispute was hurting the public. A spokesman said: “The prospect of further strike action will disappoint everyone who relies on the postal service.

“It’s crucial that both sides redouble their efforts to resolve their differences as quickly as possible — before further damage is done.”

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