The card company Moonpig has advised customers to order early where possible but said its gifts and flowers use different delivery services so would be unaffected by the strikes. On strike days it will deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible, it said. Industrial action will threaten the job security of postal workers, said Royal Mail, calling on the leaders of CWU to cancel the walk-out and accept invitations for talks. This is the sixth strike for postal workers, and comes after a summer of unrest which saw rail workers and criminal barristers walk out amid disputes with their employers. It said this included «the direct impact of eight days of industrial action» as well as lower volumes of parcels being posted.
Postal worker Hannah Carrol, who is part trade99 review a strike at Whitechapel in East London, said she wanted to see wages rise in line with the growing cost of living. It said plans by the postal service include cutting workers’ sick pay, delaying arrival of post by three hours and inferior terms for new employees. Industrial action by more than a hundred staff is expected to impact about 50 flights each day. International Distributions Services, which is the parent company of Royal Mail, saw its share price tumble by 6.75% to 195p on Friday following the announcement. Julie Macken, co-founder of natural skincare firm Neve’s Bees, told the BBC the prospects of more strike action «makes me really scared actually».
Royal Mail: Postal strikes kick off ahead of Black Friday
Thousands of postal workers have begun a 48-hour strike in the run-up to Black Friday after talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) ended without agreement. This year’s previous Royal Mail strikes have caused widespread disruption to postal services in the UK – here’s what the dispute behind them is all about. The government has responded with the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill, which proposes to mandate a minimum level of service during industrial action from public services, with unions being sued if they fail to comply.
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The move comes as Royal Mail said the union had rejected a pay rise offer «worth up to 5.5%» after three months of talks. But while there have been calls for pay rises, there are concerns that higher wages to cope with the current cost of living could fuel further inflation. The CWU is the latest of several unions to ballot for strikes in recent weeks as the cost of living soars.
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The union has called for Royal Mail to increase wages to an amount that «covers the current cost of living». It is the first of four days of industrial action, with walk-outs also taking place on 31 August as well as 8 and 9 September. General Secretary Mr Ward said the changes could lead to the «destruction of the special relationship that postal workers and the public have in every community in the UK». The planned 19 days of industrial action include Black Friday week and Cyber Monday, as well as 13, 20, and 25 October, and 28 November. Royal Mail workers are holding the first of 19 strikes in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Royal Mail has been attempting to make the company a «parcels-led» business as the number of letters being sent through the post declines and more people shop online.
But there are broader reasons why signing away chunks of UK infrastructure to foreigners is wrong. Decisions on steel, affecting production and jobs in Britain, were being taken far away with no thought of the consequences for the UK. The public interest is sufficient grounds alone for querying Chinese or any overseas ownership of vital British public assets. Customers will not be able to claim refunds for delayed items or consequential loss due to delay for items sent on those dates. More strikes are planned for 30th November and 1st, 9th, 11th, 14th, 15th, 23rd and 24th December. First, Royal Mail managers are set to “work to rule” between 15 and 19 July, meaning they will work strictly according to contracted hours and duties.
“Royal Mail is losing £1m a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands. And staff members represented by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have announced 19 further days of action taking place throughout October and November 2022. Royal Mail workers are staging a 48-hour strike from Friday 30 September to Saturday 1 October as part of a long-running dispute. Workers on the railways and at airports are also in pay disputes with employers, with train drivers set to strike on Saturday. Nathan Clements, chief people officer at food service company SSP Group, said the dispute served as a reminder of the importance of communication.
It also expressed concerns that proposals to add a new category of regulation to ensure timely delivery for business users like direct mail companies «goes against the wider government drive to reduce unnecessary regulation». «Royal Mail must meet their universal service obligation while trying to compete with private firms who often cherry-pick the most profitable business,» says Ms King. The current administration, with its shattered business ties and poor judgement, is at risk of being sucked into a new cycle of nationalisation. «We will provide further details of the expected delays to items during the period of industrial action.»
People «can’t keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks», he added. Inflation, which is the rate at which prices rise, is at a 40-year high of 9.4% and is expected to peak at 13% later this year. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said workers would walk out on 26 and 31 August and 8 and 9 September. “Once the relationship is ‘broken’ there needs to be a reset, refresh and a coming together after the dispute is resolved,” he said. Inflation, the rate at which prices rise, hit 9.1% in May and is forecast to go higher later this year. Terry Pullinger, deputy CWU general secretary, said the union wanted negotiations with Royal Mail, but claimed this was «rejected», leaving reps with «no choice but to fight their disgraceful imposition».
- The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said workers would walk out on 26 and 31 August and 8 and 9 September.
- Postal worker Hannah Carrol, who is part a strike at Whitechapel in East London, said she wanted to see wages rise in line with the growing cost of living.
- The CWU has rejected the offer, saying it failed to match rising inflation, which is currently running at a 40-year high of nearly 10%.
- Dave Ward, CWU general secretary said there will now be a «small window» for talks to avoid walkouts before strike dates are set.
- However Royal Mail says it “does not recognise” the pay cut figures and argues the job losses have been met through voluntary redundancy.
Emma Gilthorpe, Royal Mail chief executive, called it an «historic change» to give postboxes «a new lease of life». Along with Royal Mail, IDS also owns a European parcels business called GLS which it acquired in 1999 – long before Royal Mail was split off from the Post Office and privatised. The regulator’s chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes told the BBC there were «real questions about what the service needs to be going into the future».
The union said postal workers «will not budge» until they receive a «dignified, proper pay rise». «If they can grow the parcels business and claw back market share, there is every chance that they can add new jobs that could offset the reduction in jobs in the declining letters business,» says Mr Paterson. Under what is called the universal service obligation (USO), Royal Mail is required by law to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week to every address in the UK. These are likely to be the days with the worst disruption as it involves delivery and collection staff, as well as those who sort parcels and letters. The CWU is the latest of several unions to ballot for strikes in recent weeks, as the cost of living soars.
- The company said despite 11 months of discussions with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents around 115,000 postal workers, no agreement had been reached.
- The premium of 19 per cent to a pre-bid December 2024 share price represents an escape route for activist Crystal Amber, a long-standing advocate of change.
- «Postal workers won’t accept their living standards being hammered by bosses who are typical of business leaders today — overpaid, underqualified, out of their depth.»
- “We committed to protecting pay for all managers who stay with Royal Mail, and the vast majority have seen an increase in their earnings.
Earlier this month it was reported that Sainsbury’s would be the first supermarket to partner with Royal Mail and install parcel lockers at supermarkets. Some are already operating at several stores including ones in Clapham, Kidderminster and Chislehurst. What the unions are hoping, and Kretinsky is promising, is that Royal Mail will see greater investment and over time begin to look a bit more like GLS and its European counterparts such as Deutche Post DHL. Mr Kretinsky told me during our interview that he would honour the USO «as long as I am alive», but he is unsurprisingly very much in favour of changing its terms.
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Customers can continue to use post boxes during the industrial action with post offices also open and offering the usual services — but collections will be limited. No international parcels and letters will be delivered on strike days with services resuming the following working day. «In a materially loss-making company, with every additional day of strike action we are facing the difficult choice of whether we spend our money on pay and protecting jobs, or on the cost of strikes,» Mr Thompson said. Royal Mail workers, who are members of the Communication Workers Union, began a fresh round of strikes this week over pay and conditions which will include 19 u s. dollar index futures days of industrial action, including Black Friday. When Unite members voted for industrial action at the end of last month, a Royal Mail spokesperson said the postal service has “contigency plans in place to keep letters and parcels moving in the event of a strike”.
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That single move could save Royal Mail £300m a year – putting it back on a break-even footing. «After industrial action takes place, we’ll be increasing our network capacity and using additional resources to assist with getting services back to normal. Items sent the day before, during or in the days after any strike action is likely to be delayed. They also said there was “no grounds for industrial action” and accused Unite of putting out misleading claims over additional job losses to members. The union claims that more than 2,400 managers will be protesting against plans to cut up to 700 jobs and reduce pay by up to £7,000 for some. The company has previously said that 18 dates of strikes to date, including over the crucial Christmas season, had cost it £200m.
«It is proof that postal workers will not accept their livelihoods being destroyed so that a few at the top can generate why do alcoholics have a purple nose serious profits at their expense. As the CWU union secures a fresh strike mandate from its members, a company source tells Sky News there will be no improved pay offer as the demands are becoming increasingly unaffordable. «After industrial action takes place, we’ll be increasing our network capacity and using additional resources to assist with getting services back to normal,» says Royal Mail.
Delays to key services such as next-day delivery and tracked items could potentially be impacted. Unite claims the industrial action will “impact the postal and parcel service immediately across Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. This is set to be followed by three days of strike action between 20 and 22 July. Trade union Unite said the industrial action will impact the postal service across the UK “immediately”.
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