The company has pointed to research by the industry regulator suggesting only minimum disruption for households and businesses should it no longer have bonds will deliver in 2021 2020 to deliver letters on a Saturday. Its plea to save money through a reduction in the universal service obligation for letter deliveries, over five days instead of six, has been met with government opposition. Its general secretary, Dave Ward, cited recent talks with the company’s chairman which, he said, offered hope of a « new process » after relations with the management team, including CEO Simon Thompson, collapsed last year.
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« It is proof that postal workers will not accept their livelihoods being destroyed so that a few at the top can generate serious profits at their expense. Royal Mail’s chief executive Simon Thompson told the BBC that the change needed was to pivot the business from one that was built for letters to one that focused on parcel deliveries which now represented £6 for every £10 the firm makes. It comes as Royal Mail said the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the strikers, had rejected a pay rise offer « worth up to 5.5% » after three months of talks. On strike days it will deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible, it said.
The company says it’s offering 9% more over 18 months with conditions attached, though the union disputes this figure. The company says it is losing about £1m a day, and cannot afford to give its workers a higher pay rise. Royal Mail has offered a pay deal which it says is worth up to 9% over 18 months. In those that do open, you may not be able to post letters and parcels as you usually would, but other services such as bill payments and banking should run as normal. Along with the rail industrial action on Tuesday and Wednesday, there will also be train strikes on Friday and Saturday.
Royal Mail postal workers vote to strike
Members of the union have voted by 67% to accept a deal with Royal Mail that was reached in April. The union has demanded Royal Mail group enters into negotiations to secure a « straight, no-strings pay increase for workers ». Workers on the railways and at airports are also in pay disputes with employers, with prices for goods in the UK rising at the fastest rate in 40 years. Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) backed the action on Tuesday after ballot papers were sent out three weeks ago.
The union representing the workers is demanding a pay rise that more closely reflects the current rate of inflation. 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.
$75 per month
Deliveries will be disrupted by 10 more strike days at the busiest time of the year for the postal service. But a spokesman for the CWU said that Royal Mail has offered workers a 3% pay rise this year, 3% next year as well as an additional 2% if employees agree to « the absolute destruction » of terms and conditions. « Instead of working with us to agree on changes required to fund that offer and get pay into our posties’ pockets, the CWU has announced plans to ballot in the New Year for further strike action. » 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. No letters will be delivered during strike days, said Royal Mail, but as many special delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible would be delivered. The company, which employs around 130,000 workers in the UK, said the jump in costs means that reforms to its universal service obligations – which currently requires it to make first-class deliveries six days a week – are “more urgent”.
On days of strike action, Mr Thompson admitted to a hearing of the Business Committee that Royal Mail prioritised delivering parcels over letters. Mr Thompson had been recalled by MP members of the committee who challenged his credibility. Under the agreement, staff will get a 10% rise over three years and a one-off lump sum of £500, though the union had initially sought an annual increase in line with the rate of inflation – currently running at 8.7%.
Royal Mail strikes: When are staff walking out and what’s affected?
« While bosses rake in £758m in profit and shareholders take £400m, workers are expected to take a serious real-terms pay cut, » he added. The CWU called off a 24-hour walkout planned for February, and convert australian dollars had not announced any dates for action following the most recent ballot. However, the union and Royal Mail released a joint statement on Thursday announcing further talks. « After industrial action takes place, we’ll be increasing our network capacity and using additional resources to assist with getting services back to normal. « We remain committed to getting around the table with the CWU, resolving this dispute and agreeing a pay and change deal for our people.
- Postal worker walkouts coincide with the busiest time of year for Royal Mail when people and businesses are sending Christmas cards and presents.
- « 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.
- Post Offices will stay open and offer their usual services but Royal Mail collections will be limited.
- « It is proof that postal workers will not accept their livelihoods being destroyed so that a few at the top can generate serious profits at their expense.
« Even the threat of more strike action by the CWU means more customers will switch their parcel business to our competitors. It is battling several other major cost headwinds including the disruption to overseas parcel deliveries caused by a ransomware attack a month ago that saw hackers demand £67m to unlock the company’s IT systems. 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.
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The company struck the controversial deal in May but the move is now being reviewed by the Government under the National Security and Investment Act. “Anything that would impact our people would be last resort but we are working this investment classes and online training through,” he added. When asked whether this could lead to job losses, he said it was “too early to say” but would not rule it out. Ward and Walsh described the £3.5 billion takeover by Kretinsky’s EP Group in glowing terms as “a major opportunity to influence the future”.
This will include « accelerating » the delivery of NHS and healthcare letters together with « critical Government mailings ». Customers should check they have received a notification confirming their item has been delivered to the service point before going there. Customers will not be able to claim refunds for delayed items or consequential loss due to delay for items sent on those dates. 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. Ms Carrol said she « couldn’t believe » how much the cost of necessities such as butter was increasing and said this justified the need for higher wages.