Currys drops Royal Mail over strike action

Currys has halted its use of Royal Mail for deliveries following ongoing strike action, bosses of the electrical retailer have confirmed.

Chief executive Alex Baldock hinted at the move being temporary but added that his priority is “UK households who want to get hold of their technology, particularly at this time of year.”

He said: “There is no great drama operationally for us. We plan for this sort of thing all the time. There are relatively few smaller parcels that we distribute through Royal Mail (and) they are easily switchable to another provider.

“The bigger point here is that clearly on the one hand we see with our own colleagues and our own customers up close, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis that is obviously at the root of these strikes.

“On the other hand, it doesn’t help when our colleagues can’t get to work. It doesn’t help when we can’t get stuff delivered to customers and of course a wage-price inflationary spiral is simply going to make things worse for everybody for longer.”

The move comes as Royal Mail confirmed industrial action in the run up to the Christmas period, with the postal service encouraging customers to send mail earlier than usual.

Royal Mail’s workers’ union CWU is due to strike on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December following a long running dispute, partly over pay.

Around 115,000 CWU members will be taking part in the strike action.

Royal Mail’s chief commercial officer, Nick Landon said the CWU’s decision was “holding Christmas to ransom for our customers, businesses and families across the country”.

The CWU says the latest 9 per cent pay offer from the Royal Mail spread over two years fails to keep up with price rises – with inflation currently at 11 per cent.

Chief executive Alex Baldock confirmed Currys staff have been given a 16 per cent pay rise, above the rate of inflation.

He said: “We need to retain and motivate a workforce” and that is “the price we are paying for the right talent.”

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, he said that the increase has been “16 per cent over the past year and nearly 40 per cent over the past five years”.

He added: “I would love to say it is just because we are nice people, and of course we are, but it is also because we need to retain and motivate a workforce.

“In a business like ours it is very hard for the experience of the customer to be better than that of the colleague and that is why we put so much attention into retaining and motivating colleagues.

“What we need obviously is access to talent and it is the price we are paying for the right talent.”