He added that he did not think Royal Mail would want to see a second strike, and he hoped a compromise could be reached.

BBC: Royal Mail generic

The goal is to connect you with someone with whom you have enough in common to want to strike up an e-mail correspondence and then quickly meet in person.

NEWYORKER: Looking for Someone

The strike started when 500 workers at Royal Mail's main sorting centre in Mallusk, Newtownabbey, joined about 250 other members of staff in Belfast city centre who walked out on Thursday in a dispute over proposed new working patterns.

BBC: Still no agreement in postal dispute

In response, Royal Mail said it had been working on contingency plans should strike action be held.

BBC: Bristol postal worker strikes 'inevitable'

Postal workers began the 48-hour strike early on Monday after eight days of talks between the Royal Mail and CWU officials ended without a settlement on pay increases, pension benefits or job security.

BBC: NEWS | Business | War of words amid postal strike

The threat of rolling strike action raises fears that households and businesses could receive little or no mail during that period, and possibly for weeks to come as Royal Mail struggles to deal with a backlog of parcels and letters.

BBC: NEWS | Business | War of words amid postal strike

The strike centres on the introduction 10 weeks ago of new working practices involving new methods of processing mail.

BBC: Still no agreement in postal dispute