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Post is set to be disrupted for the best part of a week due to the combination of ongoing strike action and the Christmas break.
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Royal Mail delivery vans parked inside the Whitechapel delivery office amid strike action (Photo: PA)
Royal Mail workers are involved in a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
The strikes have already affected post in the lead-up to Christmas, with videos showing warehouses stacked with built-up mail.
This will now be compounded by the festive bank holidays. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Royal Mail strikes.
Will there be post on Boxing Day?
Royal Mail delivers and collects mail on most days of the year, including Saturday, but not on bank holidays.
This means there will be no post on Boxing Day (a bank holiday), or on Tuesday 27 December, as this is the substitute bank holiday for Christmas Day, which fell on Sunday 24 December. Subsequently, there will be no regular post until Wednesday 28 December.
How is post affected on strike days?
The CWU has formally notified Royal Mail it is calling on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take national strike action. The strikes involve roughly 115,000 workers.
Despite “well-developed contingency plans”, Royal Mail has acknowledged that these “cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce”, with significant disruption on strike dates.
The most significant effect is that Royal Mail will not be delivering any letters or parcels on these days, except those sent by special delivery.
Royal Mail has promised to “prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits and medical prescriptions wherever possible”, alongside other Tracked24 parcels.
Most post offices are expected to be open on the dates walkouts are taking place, although a few will be affected by the CWU action. But any items posted in postboxes or post offices the day before, during or following strike dates are likely to be subject to delays.
Royal Mail, which has a full, in-depth list of FAQs which you can find here, advises its customers to:
- Post items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates;
- Keep posting items at post boxes or post offices, but be aware collections will be less frequent on strike days.
Postal deliveries – and collections from businesses, post offices and postboxes – should resume the day after each strike takes place.
Postal deliveries – and collections from businesses, post offices and postboxes – should resume the day after each strike takes place.
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