Talks aimed at breaking the deadlock in Oxford's postal strike broke down.

As the wildcat strike which has crippled the city's postal service continued, Communication Workers' Union representative Bob Cullen said staff at the Cowley sorting office were finding themselves struggling financially.

He appealed to the management to return to the negotiating table urgently.

The Good Friday talks, which took place in London, involved senior union officials and Royal Mail management. Talks ended at about 10pm.

Both the union and Royal Mail left disappointed.

Mr Cullen said as a punishment for walking out, workers would be subject to a 14-day ban on overtime when they finally returned to their jobs.

He added: "The talks were aimed at settling the main point in the discussions -- the punitive measures against staff.

"We're disappointed that our officials were led to believe that there would be serious negotiations, but that there was no movement.

"We're keen to go back -- we can't afford to be out all this time."

He said many workers earned just £50 last week -- instead of the usual average pay of £260.

He added: "They don't take the strike lightly and people out there depend on the mail -- with bills and cheques."

But he said that despite the disruption, the people of Oxford appeared to be behind the postal workers, adding: "I've only had favourable reaction from people in the street."

Royal Mail spokesman Richard Hall said: "The channels will stay open. It has been a priority to get back to work from day one, and we believe we have given the assurances to staff to enable them to do that.

"To be able to to move on, we need people back at work."

About 150 striking staff at the city's Cowley mail centre have unanimously voted to continue their unofficial action until at least April 14.

The strike followed claims that a small group of workers intimidated colleagues and their families in order to work overtime as a team.

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