A business leader has warned the Royal Mail that Oxfordshire firms will not tolerate another strike.

In a letter printed in the Oxford Mail today, Wednesday, April 21, Bernard Whyatt, chairman of the Oxfordshire branch of the Federation of Small Business, warned letters and invoices no longer had to be sent using the traditional postal service.

As post bosses tried to stave off compensation claims for delayed post, Mr Whyatt added: "We do not have to put up with delays in the post caused by poor industrial relations at the Oxford sorting office."

He said traders could e-mail invoices and make payments through banks, rather than posting cheques.

His letter added: "Businesses are no longer required to use the Royal Mail. Unless you improve the industrial relations in Oxford, do not be surprised that our members find other ways of communicating which are cheaper, more reliable and as effective as sending a letter."

The FSB has 2,000 members in Oxfordshire and Mr Whyatt said that increasingly businesses were looking to electronic ways of communicating with the recent growth of broadband Internet services, which allow large amounts of information to be transferred quickly.

Mr Whyatt, who is a solicitor in Kidlington, added: "Broadband can be obtained for as little as £15 a month. But for that you are not only saving on stamps, envelopes and the journey to the post box, your message is received 10 minutes later."

Royal Mail spokesman Richard Hall said postal services were increasingly being subjected to competition and as a result it was vital to be efficient. He said: "It's so important that we don't have these continued unofficial disputes and we provide an efficient and reliable service.

"People do have alternatives and if we cannot provide the service they expect, they will choose them."