Royal Mail: More strikes announced in run-up to Christmas

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The dates of the strikes will be November 25 and 26, timed to disrupt Black Friday plus November 30 and December 1, which will affect Cyber Monday. The CWU General Secretary, Dave Ward, said industrial action will continue until Christmas unless the dispute is resolved.

The CWU called the Royal Mail’s current pay offer “unacceptable” after the company purposed a seven percent pay rise over two years and a lump sum of two percent this year.

However, the Royal Mail also said the order was conditional to accepting changes to Sunday work and start times.

The pay was also described as a “surrender document” by the CWU and the union said it attacks terms and conditions as well as redundancies.

It comes at a time postal workers have been in dispute this year over pay increases to keep up with inflation during the cost of living crisis.

The CWU said it will put the Royal Mail’s pay offer to a vote, but is recommending workers reject it.

The Royal Mail has not provided specific detail on the changes, but said the offer would be made if the union agreed to “changes to Sunday working, start times and flexible working, so that Royal Mail can re-invent and compete in the growing parcels market”.

The postal company has blamed the current strike action for a lower number of parcels being delivered.

On Sunday, October 30 the CWU planned walkouts but cancelled them and said it would meet instead to call for more strikes.

Strikes were also planned for November 12 and 14, but the union now says it wishes to take more “proportionate” action.

Union members of the CWU are also being asked to deliver a vote of no confidence in the Chief Executive of the Royal Mail, Simon Thomson.

Mr Thompson said on Monday that the Royal Mail has lost £219million in the first half of 2022 which he said demonstrated that the “need for change at Royal Mail is urgent”.

He added: “We have always been clear that the more we can change the business, the more we will be able to pay our people – both now and in the future.”

The Royal Mail boss has urged union leaders to “accept the change and pay offer without delay”.

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A CWU spokesperson said the latest pay offer included “more unacceptable changes” and a “derisory 7 percent two-year pay offer that is well below projected inflation for both years”.

They added: “This reaffirms the company’s whole approach of imposing change rather than negotiating it”.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The CWU is playing a dangerous game with its members’ jobs and the future of Royal Mail. We urge CWU to withdraw these strikes for the good of our customers and our people.

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause We are doing all we can to minimise delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.”

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