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A Royal Mail boss said that a 30,000-strong recruitment blitz was not designed to "break" a union as last-ditch talks aimed at preventing this week's crippling strikes went ahead.
Operations director Paul Tolhurst said the temporary workers - around twice the normal amount taken on this time of year - were needed to "keep the mail moving" and avoid a big backlog building up.
He told GMTV that "he hoped there was hope" that the strikes on Thursday and Friday could be avoided, but said the company was gearing up for industrial action.
Royal Mail bosses are to meet the Communication Workers Union (CWU) at an undisclosed location later in a bid to break the deadlock.
Relations between the two sides became increasingly fractious over the weekend when the company announced the hiring plans. Mr Tolhurst told GMTV: "We are not trying to break the union. We recognise the CWU has a vital role to play. But the most important thing for us is to keep the mail moving. The (strikes') purpose is to damage customer service."
Of the chances of a breakthrough at the crunch talks, he said: "I hope there's hope. We are still talking, but it is a very complicated set of negotiations. We are talking and trying to find a way forward."
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CWU officials said they believed the recruitment of temporary staff during a strike was illegal and they received backing from other union leaders.
One of the Royal Mail's biggest competitors is looking to capitalise on the walkouts. TNT, the country's largest private mail company, wants powers to put its own postmen on the streets and offer a door-to-door service, something it cannot do at the moment.
Mr Tolhurst said: "Yes we are very concerned. Letter volumes that are staying are being delivered by our competitors and we are very worried about that."
Nick Wells, chief executive of TNT Mail UK, revealed his company was prepared to take on an expanded door-to-door delivery service, but admitted it would be "a massive challenge".
