"There will without doubt be more strikes if Royal Mail refuses to negotiate."

That was the message from the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) in the wake of the 24-hour postal strike.

In disputes over pay, service cuts and modernisation, York's CWU head Paul Clays said he understood that Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier had received £375,000 in bonus payments.

He said: "How can the business tell us there's no more money when it's paying itself what is equivalent to 15 years' wages as a bonus?"

He said that if Royal Mail continued not to compromise, then members would repeat the strike action.

Mr Clays said: "Last time we were absolutely amazed that we managed to get 95 per cent of our members on strike and this time they have surpassed that. We had nobody in this time.

"It just shows the way our members are thinking at the moment - that they're not having any of it. And with the managers' bonuses being announced, it is driving us up the wall.

"Our members recognise exactly what is going on. There will without doubt be more strikes if they do not negotiate."

In response to the issue of senior-level bonuses, a spokesman for Royal Mail said: "The strike has nothing to do with senior executive pay, it's about the modernisation of our business."

Mr Clays also highlighted other factors that have contributed to the strike action, as reported in The Press. He said from August 13 all delivery staff would start at least one hour later meaning that post would arrive later.

The Royal Mail spokesman said: "Yet again the union has refused to grasp or understand the harsh commercial reality of the market in which Royal Mail now operates and the consequences for all of us if we don't modernise - and do it quickly. Their decision to call another strike changes nothing and achieves nothing other than to damage the business."