Postal strike threat

• Pension deficit of £6.6billion slashes Royal Mail profits

• £5,300 for all Royal Mail staff

Royal Mail has revealed that it wants to bar future recruits from joining the final-salary pension scheme and is considering making the benefits less generous to existing workers.

The company said it had to tackle a £6.6billion pension scheme deficit.

Union leaders said yesterday's announcement was "a complete shock" and described the changes as "irresponsible".

They said delivery services would collapse if their 190,000 members went on strike.

"We will fight as hard as possible to protect postal workers' rights," said Billy Hayes, of the Communication Workers Union.

He refused to rule out the possibility of industrial action, which could take place later this year.

A six-month consultation about the pension changes begins in April. A national strike would be the first by Royal Mail workers for more than a decade.

Company bosses insist that change is vital to protect a business facing competition from the private sector.

Hundreds of leading companies have shut down their final- salary schemes and replaced them with less generous packages.

Royal Mail pays 20 per cent of every employee's salary into a pension scheme which has about 450,000 members.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said he fully supported Royal Mail's plans.

"We recognise that there are a number of difficult changes that need to be made to the way the company operates, including limiting the pension liability going forward, and fully support the business in making them," he said.

The BBC axed its final- salary scheme for new workers last year.