National strikes by postal workers will go ahead on Thursday and Friday after hopes of reaching a last minute deal collapsed.
Up to 120,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will stage two 24-hour walk-outs, crippling mail deliveries across the country.
The union warned of further strikes in the coming weeks and launched an extraordinary attack on Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, saying he was working "hand in hand with the Royal Mail" to "undermine the dispute".
General secretary Billy Hayes accused him of being the "minister without responsibility".
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