Unofficial strike action has been going on for two weeks

The Communication Workers Union confirmed its members had voted to return to work after an agreement was reached with Royal Mail.

Royal Mail said seven million items had built up in the post and "immeasurable damage" to the business had resulted.

A spokesperson for the union said its members regretted the inconvenience the strike had caused to the public.

Union members called off the strike after its members voted to accept the company's proposals.

About 200 strikers discussed the offer at Transport House in Belfast on Friday.

Strike 'unnecessary'

Royal Mail had asked staff to go back to work after it agreed to a review of employee relations.

Its personnel head in Northern Ireland, Gary Crawford, said the strike had been "completely unnecessary".

He also said they would be bringing in extra people and vehicles to help process and deliver the 18-day mail backlog.

"Other mail centres in Great Britain will also be helping to process the mail, speeding up our ability to get it delivered to customers as quickly as possible", he said.

"Our special delivery service will also be reinstated from Monday. However, we need to be completely honest with customers and we estimate that it will take 3 - 4 weeks to clear the backlog."

Mr Crawford said their second task would be to start moving the firm's whole industrial relations and employee relations climate forward to ensure that customers did not face disruption of this type again.

Earlier on Friday, a CWU spokesman said: "Throughout the strike the CWU has continued to repudiate the industrial action and encourage its members to return to work, whilst trying to find a resolution to the dispute.

Industrial relations

"However, it is clear that there has been a long history of poor industrial and employee relations within Royal Mail in Belfast, which led to the dispute taking place.

"At the request of Royal Mail, the union became involved in discussions to help resolve the dispute and is pleased that Royal Mail has now given a written statement to the union, via the Labour Relations Agency, which has enabled the dispute to be brought to an end and facilitated a return to work."

The spokesman added that the union regretted the inconvenience suffered by the general public during the dispute, and was grateful for the support of the local community.

The Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the end of the strike and urged Royal Mail to move quickly to clear-up the backlog of mail.

"Small Businesses across Northern Ireland will be clearly relieved that this strike is now at an end as it was bringing many of them to their knees," Harry McGimpsey, FSB branch chairman said.

"We hope that Royal Mail will make every effort to clear the backlog as soon as possible to ensure that vital mail is delivered."

Assurances

The union had said it wanted assurances from the company that it would not interfere with the independent body brought in to review employee relations at the firm.

It also said it did not want its members victimised when they returned to work.

On Thursday, the company said it had given the union the assurances it had asked for.

Workers at Tomb Street in Belfast began an unofficial strike on 31 January after staff alleged harassment by managers. Royal Mail denied the claims.

It halted all deliveries of post in north, south and west Belfast, as well as all mail being sent to Britain.

On Monday, Royal Mail said it would allow a third party to look at future relations between management and employees if workers returned to work immediately.

The company's offer also required staff to agree to a 12-month ban on industrial action.

Royal Mail had said it will take three to four weeks to clear the backlog of post once the strike ended.