The turnout in the ballot of 115,000 CWU members was less than two-thirds (63%), of which 78% voted in favour of a strike versus 22% against. A 24-hour walkout will be held on Monday 4 November if no agreement has been reached by that date, after the CWU allowed two weeks for an agreement to be reached with Royal Mail’s management. The CWU is in dispute with Royal Mail Group over “pay, pensions and the impact of privatisation on job security [and] terms and conditions” and has pledged that the dispute will remain until “each and every demand made has been met”. All bar 371 Royal Mail employees that opted out of their free share options are currently sitting on paper profits in excess of £3,500, although they will not be able to sell their shares for three years from the date of the IPO. Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “Postal workers have spoken very clearly that they care about their jobs, terms and conditions far more than they care about shares. The stakes have become much higher for postal workers since privatisation making this ballot more important than ever. Postal workers will not be the people who pay for the profits of private operators and faceless shareholders. “We have said from the beginning that we want an agreement and we still do. The question now is whether this privatised Royal Mail still wants an agreement. We have offered the company a two week period to reach an agreement and having already had many hours of negotiation, this is achievable if there is a will. The clock is ticking for both sides and we need Royal Mail to work to reach agreement before this deadline. “What we want is a groundbreaking, long term, legally binding agreement that not only protects postal workers’ job security, pay and pensions – but will also determine the strategy, principles and values of how the Royal Mail Group will operate as a private entity. “This means there will be no further breakup of the company, no franchising of individual offices or delivery rounds, no introduction of a cheaper workforce on two-tier terms and conditions and no part-time industry. “It will mean – regardless of who owns Royal Mail – this company will not be able to enter the race to the bottom and replicate the employment practices and service standards of their competitors.” Meanwhile, the CWU has also announced that it will hold a second ballot on the issue of “boycotting competitors mail” to supplement the current strike action over jobs, terms and conditions and pay. The boycott of mail from downstream access (DSA) providers, such as TNT, UK Mail and Citipost,...

CRP employs around 220 staff across three dedicated sites in Corby and was founded by chairman Peter Sangster, who will retire from the business following completion of the sale. The company, which has its own in-house flexo, digital and litho printing capability, specialises in litho-laminated packaging, 3D point of sale, HD preprint, food contact and heavy duty packaging. Eddie Fellows, managing director of CRP, said: “The Company has enjoyed considerable success under private ownership for the last 20 years and has grown substantially in the past five years. The time is now right for us to strategically align our business to meet the future requirements of the market and Smurfit Kappa was the obvious choice with its extensive product offering and wide geographical spread.” Clive Bowers, chief executive of Smurfit Kappa corrugated UK said: “I am delighted with the acquisition of CRP Print and Packaging. They have built an excellent business across a number of product group areas which adds to our existing strengths, whilst offering new and exciting product opportunities to the market. This acquisition supports our continued drive to further develop the future of packaging with creative product and supply chain solutions. “Eddie and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter Sangster, founder and chairman of CRP, who has been associated with the industry for fifty years, for his commitment, dedication and market leadership. Everyone wishes him a healthy and well deserved retirement.” SKUK is a subsidiary of the global paper-based packaging giant Smurfit Kappa Group, which employs approximately 41,000 people across 350 production sites in 32 countries worldwide, with a combined revenue of €7.3bn in 2012. Smurfit Kappa Group’s share price has risen more than 3.3% this week to 17.43 at the time of writing....

CRP employs around 220 staff across three dedicated sites in Corby and was founded by chairman Peter Sangster, who will retire from the business following completion of the sale. The company, which has its own in-house flexo, digital and litho printing capability, specialises in litho-laminated packaging, 3D point of sale, HD preprint, food contact and heavy duty packaging. Eddie Fellows, managing director of CRP, said: “The Company has enjoyed considerable success under private ownership for the last 20 years and has grown substantially in the past five years. The time is now right for us to strategically align our business to meet the future requirements of the market and Smurfit Kappa was the obvious choice with its extensive product offering and wide geographical spread.” Clive Bowers, chief executive of Smurfit Kappa corrugated UK said: “I am delighted with the acquisition of CRP Print and Packaging. They have built an excellent business across a number of product group areas which adds to our existing strengths, whilst offering new and exciting product opportunities to the market. This acquisition supports our continued drive to further develop the future of packaging with creative product and supply chain solutions. “Eddie and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peter Sangster, founder and chairman of CRP, who has been associated with the industry for fifty years, for his commitment, dedication and market leadership. Everyone wishes him a healthy and well deserved retirement.” SKUK is a subsidiary of the global paper-based packaging giant Smurfit Kappa Group, which employs approximately 41,000 people across 350 production sites in 32 countries worldwide, with a combined revenue of €7.3bn in 2012. Smurfit Kappa Group’s share price has risen more than 3.3% this week to 17.43 at the time of writing....

The Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced the consultation today whilst visiting small businesses in the East of England, stressed the “vital” importance of SMEs to the economic recovery. “It’s not right that suppliers are not getting paid on time for the work they do and the services they provide and I know that late payment can have devastating effects on our small and medium sized businesses,” he said. “The government has already taken steps to help address this issue but I am clear that more needs to be done to build a business culture across all sectors of the economy that sees the fair, prompt and reliable payment of suppliers become a core corporate responsibility which is taken seriously at the most senior levels.” The consultation will call for views on a range of questions, including how the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) can be strengthened (see below for a list of consultation questions). Consulation Questions How can we encourage greater oversight and responsibility for payment policies at senior management and board level? What can be done to increase transparency around which companies are good payers and which ones are not? How can the Prompt Payment Code be strengthened and is there more that can be done to hold companies to account against it? Can more be done to enforce existing legislation, including the provisions on payment terms – for instance the prohibition of ‘grossly unfair’ payment terms? What can be done to encourage more companies to make use of their existing statutory right to interest for late payments? Is there a case for further legislation or penalties? Can government do more to help SMEs to help themselves, including through new technologies and services like electronic invoicing and mobile payments? The PPC has drawn criticism for its negligible impact, given that only 1,500 of Britain’s 4m plus firms have signed up to it, including less than half of the FTSE 350. In addition, of the firms that have signed up, some have reportedly stretched settlement to 120 days, according to the Federation of Small Businesses. FSB national chairman John Allan said: “Late payments is an increasing issue for our members. Being paid late or given extended terms can severely hamper many small firms. “They simply don’t have the same cash-flow buffer as a large businesses, so being paid on time can be the difference between being able to pay staff and not. Furthermore, when a small firm is paid late they then can become late payers themselves.” Katja Hall, chief policy director for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: “Late payment is a serious issue for all businesses but particularly for smaller firms, as cash flow is their...

Earlier this month the Leeds-based company, which was incorporated into the £200m turnover Adare printing empire in 1994 before a management buy out eight years ago, installed two W&D reel-fed envelope machines as pat of a six-figure investment. The 125-staff company with a £20m turnover, has also notched up several impressive contract wins recently. These include two deals for transactional work, each worth £500,000, a £400,000 contract with a charity and a £500,000 contract for a utility and insurance provider. “Success is down to good customer service and not being overly ambitious but strong in business,” said sales director Ian Mitchelson. “We will always look to invest to make ourselves more efficient and profitable but it’s more about good, steady, consistent profits, not soaring from £20m to £50m.” Mitchelson added: “We have produced over 45bn envelopes over the last 25 years, and have processed over half a million orders. Many of our customers have been with us for as long as 15 years.” GNE is one of the largest independent UK manufacturers of direct mail and transactional envelopes, supplying both end user and trade customers with orders ranging from 1,000 envelopes to several million. Some 6m envelopes are supplied and 100 individual orders are processed a day. Managing director Warren Shermer said “We are delighted to be celebrating 25 years in the industry and are proud to be one of the key suppliers in the UK envelope industry as well as being a major local employer in the Leeds area with over 120 staff.” Operations director Barry Williamson said: “Over the last 25 years we have invested more than £15m in new equipment and technology, ensuring we can deliver the best possible product and service offering to all our customers.”...