Postal workers have voted to accept a deal to settle the long-running dispute with Royal Mail over pay and working practices.

Workers voted by two to one to accept a deal agreed between the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail at the beginning of last month.

Under the terms of the deal, staff will receive a 6.9% pay rise over three years.

The dispute led to nationwide strikes in October last year.

"This was a strong ballot result for a strong deal and we're delighted that our members have fully supported this hard fought for agreement," said Dave Ward, the CWU's deputy general secretary.

"The deal commits Royal Mail to retaining full-time staff, improved flexibility and a voluntary approach to any redundancies."

The union said that over the next three years, new machinery and working patterns will be introduced to the company.

As part of the deal agreed between the two parties in March, full-time workers will also get extra payments worth up to £1,400 once all these changes have been made.

Pay increases

Postal workers will receive a 2% pay increase this year, followed by a 1.4% pay rise in 2011 and a 3.5% rise in 2012.

They will also work shorter hours - down from 40 to 39 hours a week - and the Royal Mail has agreed to keep 75% of the workforce as full-time, rather than part-time staff.

In exchange, the union has accepted the large-scale modernisation plan that the Royal Mail says is crucial for its future.

Royal Mail has consistently argued that changes are vital as its core business of delivering letters and parcels is declining by 10% every year. The group also has a £6.8bn pensions deficit.