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Royal Mail workers are set to strike over six days in August and September in a dispute over pay, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) recently announced.
The union said it would be the biggest strike of the summer so far, with more than 115,000 workers set to walk out.
Royal Mail has said the strike would be “materially loss-making” in the current financial year.
Find out when Royal Mail staff are striking below.
When will Royal Mail staff go on strike?
More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers are planning to strike on August 26, August 31, September 8, and September 9.
Fresh strikes were also recently announced by post office workers. Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will walk out on August 26, 27 and 30, with some of the action coinciding with strikes by BT, Openreach and Royal Mail employees.
Approximately 2,000 Crown office, supply chain and admin workers will walk out on August 26, the so called ‘everyone-out’ day.
Crown office staff continue their action the next day, Saturday 2, and their Supply Chain and Admin colleagues return to their picket lines after the Summer Bank Holiday, on Tuesday 30.
Why are they striking?
The CWU says the Royal Mail Group hasn’t offered 5.5% on pay, but has imposed 2% and offered a further 1.5% “based on signing away our terms and conditions”.
The union also says the group offered £500 in 2023 for hitting “unachievable” targets.
According to CWU, the Royal Mail Group made £758 million in profit and gave £400 million to shareholders, and £2 million to two CEOs and finance officers in bonuses.
CWU general secretary, Dave Ward, said: “Nobody takes the decision to strike lightly, but postal workers are being pushed to the brink.
“There can be no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve.”
He added: “We can’t keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks.
“The CWU’s message to Royal Mail’s leadership is simple – there will be serious disruption until you get real on pay.”
What has Royal Mail said about the strikes?
Royal Mail said in a statement: “Royal Mail believes there are no grounds for industrial action. Royal Mail is ready to talk further with the CWU to try to avert damaging industrial action but it must be about both change and pay.
“We have contingency plans in place, and will be working hard to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as soon as we can to keep people, businesses and the country connected.
“Meanwhile you can continue to send your parcels and letters and we would encourage you to post early in advance of these dates.”
Royal Mail operations development director, Ricky McAulay, said: “After more than three months of talks, the CWU have failed to engage in any meaningful discussion on the changes we need to modernise, or to come up with alternative ideas.
“The CWU rejected our offer worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years.
“In a business that is currently losing £1 million a day, we can only fund this offer by agreeing the changes that will pay for it. Royal Mail can have a bright future, but we can’t achieve that by living in the past.”
On the latest announced strikes, CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey said: “We’re as determined as we have ever been to keep fighting and win a settlement that will protect our members’ standard of living through these exceptionally difficult economic times.”
“Although ours is a separate trade dispute to that of our Royal Mail colleagues – and our BT Openreach fellow members – the issues at stake here are all remarkably similar. A profitable company, a workforce who performed exceptionally during the pandemic – as key workers, continuing to attend work throughout – and an arrogant and uncaring senior management who seem dead set on attacking, impoverishing and humiliating its own employees,” he added.
“And just like our fellow members in those other, larger companies, our Post Office members will stand and fight, fight and fight again until justice is served.”
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