Due to the Royal Mail strike happening this week, there might be changes to our shipments' delivery and tracking dates, getting back on track by Monday, September 12th.
"When are the Royal Mail strikes?"
There are two days of planned strike action:
Thursday, September 8th
Friday, September 9th
As of now, there are no further strikes scheduled after Friday, but more could be announced if the CWU and Royal Mail don't come to an agreement.
"How will services be affected?"
Royal Mail mentioned that letters won't be delivered during the strike days. However, the Post Office will stay open as they operate separately.
The company has apologised to customers but assures they have plans in place to minimise disruptions.
In a statement, they said, "Royal Mail has well-prepared contingency plans, but they can't completely replace the everyday efforts of our frontline workers. We'll do our best to keep services going, but customers should expect notable disruptions."
On strike days, Royal Mail plans to:
Deliver as many special delivery and tracked 24 packages as possible.
Give priority to delivering Covid test kits and prescriptions whenever feasible.
Not deliver letters (except for special delivery).
Items posted the day before, during, or after any strike action will experience delays.
Royal Mail mentions it can't guarantee delivery of all special delivery items until 9 am or 1 pm the following day, so they're suspending regular guarantees during the strike.
Royal Mail advises:
Post items as early as possible before the strike dates.
Continue posting items to PO boxes or post offices, noting that collections will be less frequent on strike days.
“Why are postal workers on strike?”
Dave Ward, CWU general secretary, said, "No one takes the decision to strike lightly, but postal workers are at their limit. There's no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their pursuit of a fair and deserved pay rise."
He added that people "can't continue living in a country where bosses make billions while their employees have to resort to food banks."
Ricky McAulay, Royal Mail's chief operating officer, accused the union of not engaging in "any meaningful discussion" after months of negotiations.
"The CWU rejected our offer worth up to 5.5% for CWU colleagues, the highest increase we've offered in many years," he stated.
"In a business currently losing £1 million a day, we can only afford this offer by agreeing to changes that will fund it."
