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16 December 2022, 12:20 | Updated: 16 December 2022, 12:21
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Royal Mail has warned that first-class cards and parcels must be sent today to be delivered in time for Christmas, as staff return to work after two days of strikes.
The company brought forward its latest recommended posting dates this year by five days to help manage the impact of strike action by members of the Communication Workers Union on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24.
It is already too late to send items second class or post anything internationally in time for Christmas.
The deadline for first-class mail is today, while there are still a few days to send items by special guaranteed delivery.
Postal workers returning to work after two days of strikes have huge piles of undelivered post to sort out, with the Royal Mail having asked all staff – including lawyers, accountants and sales personnel – to help with the backlog.
The Royal Mail has accused the CWU of “holding Christmas to ransom” by striking at the “busiest time” of the year but the union says management has shown no interest “in resolving this dispute or saving Christmas” and claimed their “sole intention is to destroy the livelihoods of over 115,000 postal workers and wreck the service they provide”.
Royal Mail claims it has now offered postal workers a pay rise of 9 per cent over 18 months but it is also calling for changes to working patterns – asking staff to work half an hour longer during busy periods in return for shorter hours during quieter times of the year.
In addition to the walkouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, postal workers are also due to take action on Friday, December 23 and on Christmas Eve.
British retailers are encouraging Christmas shoppers to visit their local high street in order to buy gifts rather than going online and potentially not receiving their order in time.
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Alamy
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Andrew Goodacre, chairman of British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), said: “To ensure you get your Christmas gifts on time, we are advising people to go into shops.
“We would always say that anyway as we’d always promote a healthy vibrant High Street, but when there’s so much disruption, not just with postal strikes, but rail strikes too, if customers want certainty on Christmas orders, best to order online, and collect in store.”
