Christmas post hit as Royal Mail workers strike

On Tuesday, a separate set of figures from the ONS revealed that the gap between wage growth in the public and private sector is near a record high. Some parcel companies claim the walkouts are having a knock-on effect, and forcing them to delay next-day deliveries as people and firms seek alternative ways to send their post. Royal Mail workers walked out again on Wednesday, marking the third of six strike days across the festive season. So deliveries of purchases made on Cyber Monday – 28th November – could be delayed by strike action on Wednesday 30th November and Thursday 1st December. Items sent the day before, during or in the days after any strike action is likely to be delayed.

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Unite warned that this would immediately affect postal and parcel services across the country. “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. Delivery staff are not yet involved on these days, so some people may still receive items. Tracked 24 mail, including medical prescription items and COVID tests, will also be prioritised but people are again warned to expect delays.

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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.

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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 workers is demanding a pay rise that more closely reflects the current rate of inflation.

• The CWU is the latest of several unions to ballot for strikes in recent weeks, as the cost of living soars.
• The company said in a statement that it had offered staff a 9% pay rise over 18 months, was committing to make Sunday working voluntary, and would make no compulsory redundancies before March next year.
• 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.
• 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.
• “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.
• 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.

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.

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.

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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.

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”.

The company also Financial instrument types expressed disappointment in the decision and said there were “no grounds for industrial action”. “There is not a single aspect of these cuts which is about improving customer service. However, the company refutes the basis for the action and describes the pay cut claim as “wrong”.

No international parcels and letters will be delivered on strike days with services image manipulation 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 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.

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 ann kharchenko – forexarticles 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.

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 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.

Other tariff hikes will go into effect for semiconductors, solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, battery magnets, critical minerals, steel, aluminum, cranes, and certain medical products. This comes as numerous economic studies have concluded that China is producing far more than it needs domestically in these sectors and in some cases, more than is needed in the world. But today’s decisions have a different strategic focus than those of previous administrations.