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Residents in Gedling borough are being warned of serious disruption to post over the next few weeks.
Postal workers employed by Royal Mail are set to strike for the first time in 13 years in a national dispute over pay.
When are the Royal Mail strikes?
Royal Mail staff plan to strike on:
- Friday, August 26
- Wednesday, August 31
- Thursday, September 8
- Friday, September 9
How will services be affected?
The company has apologised to customers, but says it has plans to minimise the disruption.
In a statement it said: “Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but they cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce. We will be doing what we can to keep services running, but customers should expect significant disruption.”
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On days when strike action is taking place, Royal Mail says it will:
- Deliver as many special delivery and tracked 24 parcels as possible
- Prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits and medical prescriptions wherever possible
- Not be delivering letters (with the exception of special delivery)
- Items posted the day before, during or in the days after any strike action will be subject to delay.
Why are the strikes happening?
The move follows an overwhelming vote earlier in July, in which postal workers voted by a margin of more than 97 per cent to take strike action.
This is in pursuance of their union’s pay claim, with the Communication Workers Union stating this is against a backdrop of the company imposing a two per cent increase on the workforce without reaching agreement with the trade union.
Workers are demanding a “dignified, proper pay rise”.
“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,” CWU general secretary Dave Ward has said.
“When Royal Mail bosses are raking in £758m in profit and shareholders pocketing £400m, our members won’t accept pleads of poverty from the company.
“The CWU’s message to Royal Mail’s leadership is simple – there will be serious disruption until you get real on pay.”
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In response to the proposed action, a Royal Mail spokesman commented: “Instead of engaging meaningfully on change that will secure future jobs, the CWU has decided to ballot against change.
“We are losing £1million a day, and we need to change what we are doing to fix the situation and protect jobs.
“This change is also needed to support the pay package we have offered to CWU grade colleagues, worth up to 5.5 per cent.
“This is the biggest increase we have offered for many years and the CWU has rejected it.
“This would add around £230million to Royal Mail’s annual people costs when the business is already loss-making.
“The CWU has put forward ideas for change that would cost over £1billion, while not delivering the changes needed to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry.
“These actions do not represent a union that supports change. We wanted to meet this week but were disappointed the CWU could not make it – we hope to meet next week.
“The CWU have their heads in the sand and are failing to grasp the seriousness of the situation.
“Royal Mail can have a bright future, but we cannot achieve that by living in the past. Customers want more parcels, bigger parcels, delivered the next day, including Sundays, and more environmentally friendly options.
“By modernising, we can offer more of what our customers want at a price they are willing to pay, all while protecting jobs on the best terms and conditions in the industry.”
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