postal workers at the uks royal mail on tuesday accepted a new pay deal to end a costly series of strikes the communication workers union cwu held a ballot with 76 percent voting to end the dispute which saw over 115000 workers take 18 days of strike action in the final quarter of 2022 this has been the most challenging period in both the history of the union and the company and i want to thank every single member that has voted in this ballot said cwu general secretary dave ward far from being an endorsement of the actions of royal mail group this result will be the start of the union reconnecting in every workplace if the new ceo is someone that wants to take the workforce with them then this company can have a bright future if the same old mantras continue then royal mail group as we know will be finished forever international distributions services parent company of royal mail said in may it had sunk into an annual loss following mass strike action as wages failed to keep up with soaring inflation ids reported a loss after tax of £873 million 11 billion in the 12 months to the end of march against a net profit of £612 million in 202122 quality of service has been significantly affected by industrial action and high levels of absence said keith williams independent nonexecutive chair at ids the results update came after royal mail confirmed the chief executives departure simon thompson will leave at the end of october following criticism by uk lawmakers of performance at the former state monopoly thompson last year announced a cut in 10000 royal mail roles or about seven percent of the workforce blaming the move partly on the strikes set up more than 500 years ago royal mail has experienced some of its most turbulent times during the past decade particularly following its controversial privatisation in 2013 the firms core letters business has been ravaged as consumers increasingly go online to communicate however it enjoyed booming demand for parcel deliveries during britains covid lockdowns  and played a vital role delivering test kits and protective clothing in the pandemic