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A spokesman for Royal Mail said the company had made a “best and final pay offer worth up to 9% over 18 months”. “It’s meant we’ve had to staff up to protect our customers,” she told the BBC, with three times as many requests for advice on delivery windows from shoppers than usual. Pip Haywood, managing director of online card company Thortful, has calculated that each day of action is costing the firm up to £50,000 a day. No letters – except those marked Special Delivery – will be delivered, with people advised to dispatch items as early as possible. All the dates of Royal Mail strikes for November and December, and how your post will be affected. The head of the CWU, Dave Ward, said the near year long period of negotiating and industrial action has been “the most challenging period in both the history of the union and the company”.
A Canadian postal strike is expected to cause mail to and from Canada to be delayed, according to the Bermuda Post Office. “The agreement provides Royal Mail a platform for the next phase of stabilising the business whilst continuing to drive efficiencies and change,” a statement said. Acceptance of the deal will not mean a scaling down of union activity, Mr Ward said, nor is it an “endorsement” of Royal Mail actions. By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy . There was also an agreement to respect union demand for no compulsory redundancies until 2025.
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Union bosses the action was “for a proper pay rise” and said the strikes would be the biggest this summer. Along with the rail industrial action on Tuesday and Wednesday, there will also be train strikes on Friday and Saturday. The dispute has been going on since the summer and like all the industrial action across rail, the NHS, teachers, border staff and driving examiners, pay is a key issue. As well as holding strikes this week, 115,000 Royal Mail workers from the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will also take industrial action on 23 December and Christmas Eve.
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Moreover, the trade measures encourage foreign direct investment in the United States, so foreign companies can employ US workers to make cars to sell to US consumers. The latest union campaigns at foreign-owned automakers in the south show the promise (though not guarantee) that these investment flows will be an engine of middle-out growth. Customers should check they have received a notification confirming their item has been delivered to the service point before going there.
Royal Mail workers vote to go on strike over pay
But the rail industry was hit by a drop-off in passenger numbers during the Covid pandemic, and it’s under pressure to save money. Bosses say reforms need to be agreed, to afford pay increases and modernise the railway. And on Friday, rail workers, buses, baggage handlers, highway workers and driving examiners will walk out. However, because she relies “so heavily on the post” to get products from suppliers and to send her art to customers, she says it “has made my life very hard this Christmas season”. Lucy Bryant, who runs her small business Haus of Lucy from Brighton, says she supports the strikers as “everyone has a right to fair pay”. Postal worker walkouts coincide with the busiest time of year for Royal Mail when people and businesses are sending Christmas cards and presents.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said the offer represented a “devastating blow” to postal workers’ livelihoods and urged the public to “stand with their postie”. The union criticised Royal Mail’s “aggressive” stance over the talks and called for an improved pay deal, a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies and other improvements to the offer. It says strikes have added £100m to its losses, and has announced plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs.
- By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .
- Around 115,000 postal workers are walking out for 48 hours during Thursday and Black Friday.
- “Even the threat of more strike action by the CWU means more customers will switch their parcel business to our competitors.
- The universal service currently requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week, but is under review.
- “Fewer customers means a smaller business and means we need fewer people”, the source said.
- These walkouts are currently set to only involve delivery workers, so collections from postboxes and Post Offices should take place.
Post Office strikes
Royal Mail said it had made its “best and final offer” and accused the union of “holding Christmas to ransom”. Daniel Kretinsky is understood to have offered a series of concessions to the UK government. On 24 November, Royal Mail said it had made its “best and final offer”, and accused the union of “holding Christmas to ransom”. However, it will deliver as opencv introduction many parcels and Special Delivery letters as possible. He described the plans as an “asset-stripping business plan” that will lead to the break-up of the company.
No international parcels and letters will be delivered on strike days with services resuming the following working day. The union said postal workers “will not budge” until they receive a “dignified, proper pay rise”. “Should the CWU announce further strike action, we have plans to minimise disruption and Best investments for 2024 get our services back to normal as soon as possible to keep people, businesses and the country connected.” Last month Royal Mail proposed a “pay-for-change” offer which would include changes to workers’ shift patterns including start times and Sunday working in exchange for a 9% pay rise spread over two years. Royal Mail workers are striking on multiple days across the next few months, with people warned to expect delays to their parcels and letters. Royal Mail workers are to hold 19 days of strike action over pay and terms and conditions during the peak postal build-up to Christmas.
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”. But he said Royal Mail’s chief executive and board “should seriously consider their futures” as the ballot was “also a vote of no confidence”. Its problems have seen Royal Mail come under increased pressure within parent firm IDS as operating losses mount. The source at Royal Mail signalled a deep frustration within the firm on the lack of progress in the negotiations to date, accusing the union of misleading its members. “It is proof that workers loyal to an historic institution like Royal Mail will not accept it being turned into an Uber-style, bog-standard gig economy employer.
Twenty-one days will be affected by the strikes, which the union says will have a “dramatic impact” on peak periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the run-up to Christmas. Around 115,000 staff are walking out over pay and conditions in what the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) says is the biggest national strike of any sector this year. Royal Mail had previously offered a one-off payment plus a pay deal it says is worth 10% over three years. The union also objected to proposed changes to working conditions, including compulsory Sunday working. The CWU’s executive will meet next week to consider the deal, which if accepted, will then be voted on by union members.
The company is encouraging people to post items as early as possible to avoid disruption. So the company wants to switch its focus to parcels and in particular to next-day parcel delivery. The work stoppage has halted mail and parcel services across the country ahead of the busy holiday season. The company says it has improved its offer to workers, including more generous redundancy terms and a profit-sharing scheme.
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. 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 union has called for Royal Mail to increase wages to an amount that “covers the current cost of living”.
Royal Mail said it has “contingency plans in place to minimise disruption for customers” and will “work to keep people, businesses and the country connected”. Twenty-one dates are affected by Royal Mail strikes in September, October, November and December. The firm says it will try to keep services going to some extent but disruption and delays are likely to be significant. The CWU said that in real terms, the offer was equivalent to a 2% increase, with workers squeezed by inflation and the cost of living crisis. The union representing the the best white label crypto exchange solutions workers is demanding a pay rise that more closely reflects the current rate of inflation.
